Assam 108 Mritunjoy Employees Begin Indefinite Strike, Suspend Emergency Services

The All Assam 108 Mritunjoy Employees Association on Monday launched an indefinite work stoppage and sit-in protest, bringing emergency ambulance services across the state to a standstill.

The agitation began at the city’s designated dharna venue in Sasal, where hundreds of employees gathered and raised anti-government slogans, making the atmosphere tense and charged.

The striking employees said the decision for an indefinite cease-work agitation and sit-in protest was taken reluctantly but necessarily, as several long-pending demands have remained unresolved despite repeated attempts at dialogue. The association informed the public that they had “no alternative left” after years of appeals failed to yield results.

During the strike, 108 Mritunjoy services will remain fully suspended, and the association has extended an apology to the people of Assam for any inconvenience caused. It also announced that 108 emergency vehicles will not operate on state roads until further notice, urging the public to remain cautious during this period.

At the protest site, members of the All Assam 108 Mritunjoy Employees Association reiterated their core demands. They emphasised the urgent need for job regularisation, stating that this essential emergency service must be operated directly by the government instead of a private agency. They called for regularisation of nearly 3,000 indigenous (khilonjia) youths currently working under the service.

Employees also highlighted that they continue to receive wages equivalent only to the minimum rate payable to “skilled labourers,” around ₹13,000–14,000 per month, which they said makes it impossible to run a household. Stating that their responsibilities align with “highly skilled labour,” they demanded that they be granted corresponding minimum wages or Fair Wages.

A major grievance relates to 12-hour duty rosters, where EMTs and pilots are scheduled for 12 hours, and EROs for 9 hours. According to the employees, labour law mandates overtime wages for 4 hours for EMTs/pilots and 1 hour for EROs, but EMRI Green Health, the private operator handling the service, pays EMTs and pilots for only 2 hours of overtime while not paying the remaining 2 hours at all. EROs, they said, receive no overtime wages whatsoever. They alleged this amounts to a clear violation of labour laws and demanded immediate implementation of full overtime payments.

The employees further claimed they are being deprived of the mandatory annual bonus, a benefit routinely granted in private organisations. They demanded that yearly bonuses be paid regularly, as required by labour regulations.

Even as they apologised to the public for the temporary shutdown of ambulance services, the All Assam 108 Mritunjoy Employees Association maintained that the strike is a last resort after years of unresolved distress. The association declared that the sit-in protest and indefinite work stoppage will continue until the government takes concrete steps to address their longstanding grievances.

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