Goa government terms ambulance operators' strike illegal

The Goa government Wednesday declared as illegal the strike by employees of GVK-EMRI, an agency which provides mobile health care services and responds to medical emergencies here.

A statement issued late Wednesday by the Department of Information and Publicity said that in view of 108 emergency health services operated by GVK-EMRI being brought under the Essential Services Management Act, the agency's striking employees "shall be liable to disciplinary action including dismissal".

The employees have been demanding a new fleet of ambulances, claiming that the present fleet of vehicles was old and prone to repeated breakdown which resulted in them facing public ire while handling paramedical emergencies.

Nearly 100 workers of the GVK-EMRI agency, which also provides its services to other states, are on strike since Wednesday.

The agency had been engaged by the state health department during the erstwhile Congress-led coalition government's regime.