108 staff protest to handover service to GVK

HYDERABAD: Even as the Health Management Research Institute (HMRI)104 call centre contract employees (numbering about 1,000) were on strike for losing their jobs, about 4,070 employees of the 108 service of the Emergency Management Research Institute (EMRI) are also on the warpath protesting the government's move to handover the services to GVK group. All the contract employees of 108 services were on strike from September 12 for nonpayment of salaries for the last two months and for various other reasons.
A delegation comprising 108 Emergency Services Contract Employees Association president Md Abbas, general secretary Varaprasad and others met special chief secretary to health G Sudhir at the Secretariat here on Friday. They complained to him that the commissioner of family welfare Y Sri Lakshmi has invited them for talks on the issue on Friday morning, but was not available till afternoon. They submitted a representation to him requesting him to resolve their problems. In response, Sudhir said that he was not aware of their meeting with Sri Lakshmi and however, assured of taking their problems and demands to the notice of chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for necessary action.