Shillong Oct 22: A pretermination notice will be served to GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) that runs ambulance service in the state as the Meghalaya government was not satisfied with its performance.

This was informed by Health minister, A L Hek who chaired a meeting to discuss about the disruption of ambulance service in the state in the presence of state health officials and representatives of the GVK EMRI.

The decision to issue the pretermination notice came after the GVK EMRI could not provide ambulance service due to strike by its staff under the banner of the Meghalaya Emergency Management and Research Institute Workers’ Union.

Recently, the state government through additional secretary (political department) had promulgated the Meghalaya Essential Services Maintenance Act which prohibited strike by the staff of GVK EMRI.

The order remains in force for a period of six months.

Earlier, the health department had constituted a committee how to bring about conciliation between the GVK EMRI and its staff, but no solution could be found, which led to agitation by the staff.

Views of the labour and law departments were also taken, but both the departments made it clear that the problem is an internal matter of the GVK EMRI and its employees since the government had only signed an agreement with the company.

Hek told reporters on Tuesday that if the GVK EMRI failed to perform within two months after issuing the pretermination notice, the government would take its next course of action.

The staff of GVK EMRI alleged the state government of being indifferent towards their 36-charter of demands, and demanded that the agreement signed with GVK EMRI should be terminated immediately.

The agreement was signed during 2009-2010 for a period of nine years.

Hek said that as of now, the government has not discussed about taking over the emergency service from GVK.