Ambulance strike withdrawn as govt acts

A nationwide indefinite strike by ambulance and freezer van operators has been called off after the government assured the Ambulance Owner Welfare Association that its five-point demand would be addressed within the next 30 days.

The decision was announced at an emergency press briefing held at the reception room of the MP Hostel in Dhaka shortly after midnight.

The briefing was attended by lawmaker Advocate Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, Md Habibur Rahman, Health Services Division Secretary Md Kamruzzaman and representatives of the police.

The announcement followed a meeting chaired by Advocate Shimul, where representatives of the government and the association discussed the organisation’s demands.

The meeting concluded with a consensus to resolve the issues through consultations with the relevant authorities within the next month.

“The Ambulance Owner Welfare Association placed five demands before us.

Following constructive discussions, we have agreed that the issues will be resolved within the next 30 days after consultation with the relevant stakeholders,” Shimul told reporters.

Chief Adviser of the Ambulance Owner Welfare Association, Mohammad Golam Mostofa Fuad, said the organisation decided to withdraw the strike after receiving the government’s assurance.

“As the government has assured us that our demands will be considered within the next 30 days, we are withdrawing our scheduled strike,” Fuad said.

He urged ambulance owners and drivers across the country to continue operating emergency services without disruption to avoid public suffering.

The association had earlier announced an indefinite nationwide strike of ambulances and freezer vans from 6:00am on Wednesday to press home its five-point demand.

Its demands include enforcing commercial registration rules for ambulances operating on hire, implementing the High Court’s directive to ensure toll-free movement of government ambulances, exempting ambulances and freezer vans carrying dead bodies from tolls, and ensuring round-the-clock fuel availability to maintain uninterrupted emergency ambulance services.