Dial#108 – this service started in the State way back in 2009. Undeniable, the services provided by the workers and staff to the people of Meghalaya is commendable and needs much appreciation and acknowledgement. Sadly, the same group of people who have selflessly sacrificed and provided such services for more than a decade now has none to turn to, especially when they are going through problems and times of struggle.
This service was outsourced to a private company called the Satyam in the initial year, after which the government outsourced it to another company called the GVK which is based in Hyderabad. Upon interacting with the President of the Meghalaya EMRI Workers Union, Ms. Microlina Syiemlieh, its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joseph Pyngrope and Advisor, Ms. Susan Lyngdoh, the writer got to listen to what they had to express. They shared their dissatisfaction about the management of this company, yet at the corner most of their hearts, their hope in the present government to come forward, to intervene and to let them see better days has not died yet.
Background:
The members of the Meghalaya EMRI Workers Union briefed that the Union was initiated in the year 2018 after they have witnessed irregularities at the workplace and felt the need to be heard while expressing their grievances and problems that they encounter on a regular basis. The Union in the year 2019 submitted a 36 point appeal, which highlighted prominent issues like salary, number of working hours, the situation of the ambulance among others.
The entire project appears to have been funded by the State Government with a payment of Rs. 8 crores per year to the said company. However, the numbers of ambulances that are currently operating in the State are not sufficient, especially if they are to physically cater their services to all the blocks in the districts. Not to forget, that the operating manpower and damaging ambulances have to cover long distances between districts, accompanied by bad roads. Thankfully, the recent Chief Minister’s Relief Fund which bought a decent number of ambulances during the pandemic has covered this embarrassment of operating decade-old non-functioning ambulances in Meghalaya.
The cries of 108 EMRI workers and staff with regard to these endless numbers of issues are suppressed because there is practically no authoritative body that this company is answerable to. The attitude of ‘take the job or leave it…’ is what is controlling the minds of the workers, particularly those who have been working for 10 plus years, aged, with no hope of getting another employment elsewhere.
Mental Harassment:
In an era where continuing importance is being laid on mental health and care for this aspect has become crucial, we still get to hear of a lot of it happening in most working environments – business firms, private and government sectors. Although, such threats do not happen in a direct manner, indirectly, the messages from the employer to the employee are crystal clear and it is left up to those at the receiving end to best interpret for themselves.
Being threaten to be transferred, constant salary cut, posting to odd places, which eventually leads to an employee resigning from their work, working overtime without being paid for it, being assigned with morning and night shifts which are almost back to back have taken a toll on their physical and most importantly on their mental well being. The members of the Union are not able to rationalise the reason(s) behind continuing the contract with this company by the Government of Meghalaya when the employees have expressed their distrust on how it functions, in particular, the ill-treatment towards the staff.
Quantifying episodes of any mental harassment will be difficult to document as they are based more on feelings of being neglected, unfair treatment, not being acknowledged for the work put in, either verbally or in the form of monetary reward. It is difficult to understand why the government never came forward to intervene when repeated appeals were made to them through various mediums. The silence is deafening! 200 employees may seem less. But these 200 individuals belong to 200 families and besides them, even their family members are undergoing similar mental stress when they see a family member suffering continually. Is it so easy for our competent leaders to say that the GVK workers are not the employees of the State and wash off their hands? Are they not citizens of Meghalaya and are they not serving the people of the State? One’s conscience is left with a question mark‘?’.
Salary offered:
The practice of ‘overwork and underpaid scheme’ seems to be doing the rounds in this company. In 2016, all of a sudden, the employees were informed that with immediate effect, there will not be any Yearly Increment, Leave Encashment or PL and Arrears given to them. The ESIC is however only for urban areas i.e Shillong and Byrnihat, when in actuality it is a mandate for all the employees. The staff draws a fixed amount of Rs. 8000 (for Paramedics) and Rs. 7000 (for Pilot), which is humanly not sufficient, especially with the rise in prices of commodities because of the pandemic.
For most of the existing staff, it has become impossible for them to contemplate starting a family with the income that they get. With no Travelling Allowance (TA) and Dearness Allowance (DA), the salary is the amount that they have to sustain themselves, should they be posted to other blocks and districts of the State. It is disheartening to imagine how they can make ends meet. Interestingly, other employees who are holding higher positions and are free from field assignments are drawing an enormous amount as salary.
The same field staff that are going through such hardships in their work have not been home since March 2020. They are our front line warriors from then till date. They are isolated to be able to perform their duties. Instead of being felicitated with our salute, our applause and our support, they are in turn being made to experience such unpleasant lifetime episodes. They certainly deserve much more than all of this!
Cost-cutting:
The cost-cutting strategy is the biggest question of it all. The cost-cutting is not happening only with downsizing manpower but it is happening much more. The maintenance of the existing ambulances are miserable. Purchasing ambulances which technically should be replaced every 4 years has not been happening. The basic types of equipment required inside the ambulance are not sufficient. If the staff spend money on behalf of office work, getting back their reimbursement is the toughest process which continues for months together.
It was even more surprising to learn that there are four incoming lines to attend calls for 108 services, out of which only one to maximum two staff are available throughout. This clearly explains why the residents of Meghalaya face a lot of problems in getting their lines connected. Two staff members attending phone calls for the whole of Meghalaya is shocking! Performing duty with a shortage of staff and unavailability of equipment can only handicap the system, which we the beneficiaries will suffer at a larger picture. Besides what has been highlighted, shortage of ambulances in Districts to pick and drop patients has further affected the smooth operation of the services, especially when the ambulances are assigned other official duties of the State.
Conclusion:
It is indeed a sad state of affairs when we get to witness people who have rendered long years of services to the citizens of the State be running from pillar to post to seek justice, to demand their rights and too long for a decent treatment like all other practising professionals. They are not asking for much, except for a justifiable salary for the number of hours put in their work, a secure future and better treatment as humans.
The members of the Union are indebted to many individuals and NGOs who have stood by them over the years but are equally saddened by the fact that repeated meetings with the Health Minister, Government of Meghalaya and leaders of the opposition have not borne fruit and till date, there seemed to be no clear cut solution to this problem – a traumatic stress that they are going through day-in and day-out! (The writer can be reached at maxwell.lyngdoh@gmail.com)
