Shillong, Dec 20: The Meghalaya Emergency Management Workers’ Union (MEMRIWU) has voiced strong opposition to the proposed transfer of ambulance services to new operators.
Reports have indicated that the state government intends to hand over the operation of 108 EMRI ambulance services to new companies.
The ambulance service in the State was operated by GVK EMRI and after a closure notice was issued to the firm, the government has been trying to appoint a new firm to operate the services. The National Health Mission(NHM) is currently running the service.
The union said its demand was for the State to run the services. Stating that under the temporary management of NHM, the staff have not been receiving training since 2022.
Questioning how long the employees can tolerate the delay, the union urged the state government to take over the management of the 108 Ambulance Services and employ full time staff.
The union said that the statement of Health Minister Wailadmiki Shylla that the management of the 108 Ambulance Services is improper, is a fact and that he has not received proper information from the officers.
The union also stated that the government cannot meet all the needs of all the employees but they stated that there is a collective effort to run the emergency service for the benefit of the citizens.
The union through its leader, Roypar Raswai said that the NHM management has promised to provide increment and arrear before Christmas but so far nothing has happened and added that they expect the Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and the Minister of Health to resolve these issues.
