108 ambulance service may be affected in Punjab on August 4, employee association warns Bhagwant Mann government

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], July 31 : The 108 Ambulance Employees Association in Punjab on Monday warned Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann that if their demands are not met they will gherao the Chief Minister's residence on August 4 and this might affect the ambulance service in the state.
"If the demands are not met, 108 Ambulance Employees Association will gherao the residence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Chandigarh at 12 noon on August 4 and will protest there until our demands are met," Amandeep Singh, Punjab president of 108 Ambulance Employees Association said.
Amandeep Singh said that around 1500 ambulance employees will be participating in the protest and the ball lies in the health minister's court on how to deal with the problem.
"During the protest, 108 ambulance services will be affected in Punjab as around 1500 of our employees will be sitting on dharna. Now this health minister should see how he will run these ambulances," Singh warned.
The Ambulance Employees Association president alleged that many scams are ongoing in the ambulance service and their salaries are not being paid as well.
"Many scams are happening in the project of 108 ambulance but the government is not paying attention to it. Our salaries have not been paid for a long time. There are scams regarding our salaries as well," he said.
Amandeep Singh claimed that many ambulances are in "bad" condition and yet, they are being used continuously thereby jeopardising their (ambulance drivers) lives and patient's lives as well.
"Many vehicles are in bad condition, yet these ambulances are being used continuously. Along with our lives, the lives of the patients are also being played with. Due to all this, the families of 1500 employees are getting affected," Singh said.
Amandeep Singh appealed to the Chief Minister to accept their demands and take action on an immediate basis.
"We appeal to the Chief Minister that our demands should be accepted and action should be taken as soon as possible," he said.
Earlier in January, the ambulance drivers threatened to go on a 72-hour strike demanding an increment, insurance cover and reducing the working hours of the emergency response team and reinstating ousted staff.
Responding to this, the 108 ambulance service had stated that the company and the Punjab government will take necessary disciplinary action against the employees if they go ahead with their proposed strike.
Punjab Health System Corporation operates the ambulances through private emergency medical services (EMS) company Ziqitza Healthcare Limited (ZHL).