The Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives' Association of India (FMRAI) has decided to strengthen its agitation for its long term demands, including workmen status for the medical and sales representatives and enforcement of Sales Promotion Employees (SPE) Act, 1976, uniform all over the country, in its annual general council meeting held at Allahabad.

The federation will strengthen its agitations to ensure minimum wages, in whichever states it is implemented and will commence stir in the other states to introduce the same. It also has decided to consolidate its strength through membership campaigns and will pursue vigorously to settle the bilateral issues between the medical representatives and pharmaceutical companies.

The federation has demanded formation of state-wise tripartite monitoring committee, with representatives from the government, pharmaceutical companies and FMRAI, to settle the issues. The monitoring committee should hold meetings at regular intervals and should ensure enforcement of SPE and other rights to the workers.

The general council has also decided to commence a countrywide campaign seeking to reduce the working hours of medical and sales representatives to a maximum of eight hours a day. The campaign, from the month of March 2006, will focus on the medical fraternity including doctors and chemists, to collect a general consensus about the issue, according to the sources.

The council has also proclaimed the slogan 'Go to the People', a programme to get support issues like black marketing of drugs, distribution of spurious drugs, strengthening of public sector undertakings like Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited, etc.

The federation will conduct a mass rally at Mumbai in January 2007, to appraise the issues. The rally is planned to be held as the part of inauguration session of All India Conference of FMRAI, at Mumbai, according to the sources.

"FMRAI will also strengthen its stir against the major companies like Pfizer, Nicholas Piramal, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Biological Evans and Sun Pharmaceuticals, demanding rights for collective bargaining through setting up trade union," S Sukumar, secretary, FMRAI told Pharmabiz.

The tripartiate meeting, to settle the issues between pharmaceutical companies and medical representatives, was held on February 14. The representatives from Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), FMRAI etc. have placed their demands in the meeting. The FMRAI is waiting for the response from the government on the issues, according to Sukumar.