Employees urge government to take over 108 ambulance service management in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh 108 Ambulance service employees demand government recognition and address financial hardships, urging reinstatement of G.O. 549.

Andhra Pradesh 108 Ambulance service employees, under the aegis of the AP 108 Services Contract Employees Union, organised a protest and a meeting here on Monday, November 25, demanding the State government address their problems.

They urged the government to merge 108 Ambulance services with the Medical and Health Department, recognise the employees as government employees and immediately address their other pending demands.

Union president B. Kiran Kumar and others said that every time the management of the 108 Ambulance service was changed, its employees, such as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and pilots, faced financial hardships due to non-payment of gratuity dues, earned leave amounts, and annual increments.

In 2017, the Telugu Desam Party government issued G.O. 549, which promised direct payment of ₹4,000 per month to every 108 ambulance service employee. However, the previous YSR Congress Party government revoked this, causing injustice to the employees. They said they demanded that the government reinstate G.O. 549.

The union leaders further wanted the government to fill up vacant EMT Posts in medical colleges which have remained vacant due to the lack of qualified candidates. The employees are requesting the government to relax educational qualifications and recognise the service of existing EMTs in the 108 service to fill these vacancies, they said.