NEW DELHI: Labour Minister Gopal Rai on Friday stated that all the demands of CATS ambulance workers will be accepted and that there will be a separate, transparent policy for transfer and postings for them.
Workers of the Centralised Accident and Trauma Service, who provide 24-hour pre-hospital ambulance services in the national capital, have been complaining about various issues for the last few years, and many of the workers are on strike.
In January 2015, the ambulance service was paralysed after 800 contractual drivers and paramedics went on an indefinite strike against the government’s move to outsource its functioning. A year later, the AAP government partnered with the firm UKSAS-BVG to run and maintain the ambulances. WIPRO got the contract to operate the CATS control room in East Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar.
The CATS employees have registered several complaints - the last being two weeks ago - with the Delhi government about funds and the poor condition of the ambulances.
“Every three months a review meeting will be held to look into any issues. The government agrees to all the demands of the employees. All the old workers will be restored to their jobs and a transparent policy laid out,” Rai said.