Salary paid; 108 ambulance employees end strike

Malappuram: The four-day strike of 108 ambulance workers in the state protesting against non-payment of salary has come to an end. The Kerala 108 Ambulance Employees Union (CITU) informed that the salaries were paid on Friday. 

The strike began on Monday due to delay in payment for the month of August. The inter-facility transfer (IFT) service that transports patients from one hospital to another was suspended as part of the strike. This greatly affected patients from lower-economic backgrounds. 

However, there was no hindrance in bringing the sick from their homes or accident victims to the hospital. A Hyderabad based company, EMRI Green Health, is responsible for implementing the 108 ambulance scheme. It is supervised by the state government’s Kerala Medical Services Corporation. 

There are a total of 1200 employees under this. The company had promised to pay salaries by the 7th of every month. As the payment was delayed beyond 18th, the workers went on strike.