Mysuru: Medical and sales representatives under the banner Karnataka State Medial and Sales Representatives Association affiliated to the Federation of Medical and Sale Representatives Association of India (FMRAI) staged a protest seeking redressal of their long pending demands here on Friday.
L Muralidhar Peshwa, State General Secretary, KSMSRA, said, “Our organisation has been making continuous persuasions with the concerned authorities and ministries for fulfilment of our long standing demands. The leadership of FMRAI met the Union Minister for Labour and Employment, in the month of June and July, 2016, and requested for convening the first meeting of the reconstituted Industrial Tripartite Committee for the sales promotion employees. In pursuance of our medicine related issues we had conducted demonstrations and submitted memorandum, across the country demanding immediate intervention by the central government to ensure reduction of medicine prices, declaration of working time for the sales promotion employees, ensuring the right to work in hospitals, clinics and to ensure compliance with the statutory provisions of Bonus, ESI, Provident Fund and Minimum Wages but the central government has remained unresponsive to our just demands”.
“The prices of medicines and medical devices like pacemakers, stents, implants etc., are going up every day. The common people of the country are already tremendously burdened by the price-rise in all essential commodities including food grains. Spiralling price-rise of medicines is further pushing them to a disastrous situation. The central government, despite having authority to check the medicine prices, literally did nothing; rather, letting the manufacturers to have a free hand”, added Muralidhar. The protesters submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner’s office. This is the 20th strike being observed by the association since 1984.
