Himachal: 108 and 102 ambulance services to remain suspended from tonight

December 25, 2025

Ambulance workers of 108 and 102 services in Himachal Pradesh will go on strike from 8:00 PM on Thursday night. The strike will continue until 8:00 PM on December 27th. The Health Department has made preparations to deal with the strike.

They have instructed their own ambulance drivers to be ready to operate the services to minimize inconvenience to patients. Meanwhile, the 108 and 102 ambulance workers allege that the National Health Mission (NHM) is ignoring their pending demands and that the administration is working in the company’s interest.

The strike will be held under the banner of CITU (Centre of Indian Trade Unions).

CITU leader Vijendra Mehra stated that instead of seriously considering the employees’ problems, the administration is trying to suppress them by threatening to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) of 1972.

Union leaders said that the government and the administration awarded the ambulance service tender to a private company. Despite this, when employees approach the administration with complaints about exploitation by the company, they are dismissed with the response that they are not government employees.

The employees allege that the same administration is now threatening to impose ESMA on them to protect the company. The employees say that they have repeatedly presented their demands peacefully, appealed to the administration, and informed them about the company’s exploitation, but their concerns have been ignored every time.