The ongoing strike by GVK EMRI employees entered the fourth day on Saturday. Additional security personnel were deployed at the GVK EMRI’s head office in Guwahati on Saturday in front of which the agitating employees had been staging a demonstration to protest against the alleged violation of labour laws by the company.
A report published in the The Assam Tribune stated that the GVK EMRI issued a notice of termination on Saturday to its EMTs (emergency medical technicians), pilots, ERs (emergency response officers) and captains, citing that their agreement with the Government expires on September 30 next.
The report further stated that the notice read as such, “As per the terms of your services, your services are conterminous with the GVK EMRI’s agreement with the Government. Accordingly, your services will come to an end on September 30…If any changes or communication from the Government of Assam in regard to the continuation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be communicated to you accordingly to continue your services based on your satisfactory performance in the current job,” the notice read.
The agitating union members, however, downplayed the notice, saying it was a “threat tactic”. Such notices are issued whenever there is an agitation, they said.
GVK EMRI’s 10-year agreement with the Assam Government for providing the emergency response service expired in May last, but it was extended for four more months. The State Government pays the company around Rs 54 crore for handling the emergency medical response service.