Karnataka’s 108 Arogya Kavacha ambulance service faces a potential disruption after drivers and emergency medical technicians threatened to resign on Wednesday night unless their demands for higher salaries, job security and better working conditions are addressed. The employees’ association has set an 8 pm deadline and said it will begin a protest at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park from Thursday.
Around 3,200 people work in the ambulance network operated by GVK EMRI Health Services, including drivers, first health responders and attendants. The Karnataka Rajya Aarogya Kavacha 108 Employees’ Association has asked the company to revise salaries in line with appointment letters. It has also demanded uniform pay, seniority-based salary fixation and improved working conditions.
Association president Paramashiva said the company had rejected the demands, following which representatives approached the state government. According to him, the government did not accept the demands but promised to hold discussions. The association then gave the authorities until 8 pm on Wednesday to respond.
“If they don’t meet our demands, we will resign,” Paramashiva said. He added that the employees were prepared to leave for private-sector jobs if their concerns were not addressed, saying they did not want their families to suffer because of the dispute.
Health Minister U T Khader said the government would not give in to what he described as “blackmail tactics”. He said the workers were employees of GVK EMRI and not government staff, and asked them to take their concerns to the company that employs them. The minister said the department would intervene if the company failed to provide what had been promised.
Khader also urged the public to explore alternatives to the 108 ambulance service for the next two months. He warned that the government would initiate action against GVK if the service was affected and a patient faced serious problems.
The dispute places the operational continuity of a publicly used emergency service at the centre of a contract and employment conflict. While the state government has distanced itself from the workers’ employment relationship, it has also indicated that it may act against the private operator if disruption causes serious harm to patients.
The employees’ association has said its protest at Freedom Park will continue from Thursday morning until its demands are met. The immediate outcome will depend on whether discussions take place before the Wednesday evening deadline and whether the ambulance service continues to operate normally.
