SHILLONG: As soon as 200 employees of the 108 Ambulance service under the banner of the Meghalaya Emergency Management and Research Institute Workers’ Union (MEMRIWU) began their hunger strike, another group of EMRI workers on Tuesday appealed to the agitating staff to call off their ongoing protests to avoid the risk of losing their jobs.
Addressing newspersons here on Tuesday, one of the non-union members Wanlam Wahlang appealed to their colleagues, who are protesting, to consider calling off their agitation and resolve all differences with the management of the institute.
Stating that they are not against the demands of the Union, Wahlang, however, said if this stalemate continues, the fear is that all the employees would lose their jobs since the emergency services in the state has been disrupted for the past one month. “At the same time, we also appeal to the management of the GVK EMRI to call these agitating staff for talks and resolve the stalemate once and for all so that the emergency services can be resumed at the earliest in the interest of the general public,” he said.
Around 125 staff have not joined the agitation called by the Union.
The agitating staff are at loggerheads with the management over the non-fulfillment of the 36-point charter of demands which include salary increment, increasing the number of ambulances and others.
They had also asked the state government to cancel the contract with the GVK EMRI and consider taking over the emergency services.
