The Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives Association of India (FMRAI) is planning to hold a one-day strike against four major pharmaceutical companies alleging violation of Sales Promotion Employees (SPE) Act 1976, by the month of October 2006.

The federation's protest is against four companies, the Banglore based Astra Zeneca India Pvt. Ltd., the Mumbai based Nicholas Piramal India Ltd. and Khandelwal Laboratories Ltd. and Hyderabad based Biological Evans. The action will commence with a protest dharna in front of the head office of Aztra Zeneca India Pvt. Ltd. at Banglore.

The protest dharna will be conducted against Aztra Zeneca from September 11 to 13 September on the charge that the company refuses the rights of sales employees under Section 2 (D) of SPE Act 1976, by appointing the sales personnel in other nomenclatures thus excluding them from the provisions, FMRAI sources said. Federation is planning a one-day strike of all the medical and sales representatives of four companies working in various parts of the country by the middle of October.

"When there are around 350 to 400 employees in various parts of the country, working under Astra Zeneca India, are engaged in the same nature of job, the company has only recognized 150 employees as professional service representatives to offer the rights under SPE Act. The strike against other three companies are also on the similar issues and the federation will issue strike notice to these companies soon," according to a FMRAI source.

The leaders will discuss the protest programs in a secretariat meeting held on 7th September at Kolkatha, and will move on to the strike if the demands are not accepted, he added. The federation has also send a notice to the Delhi based E Merck (India) Ltd., demanding implementations of the provisions in SPE Act, with 14 days time to respond on the demands.

Refusing the rights of the sales employees by adding the workers in some other nomenclature is violation of section 2 (D) of the SPE Act, as the section states "Sales Promotion Employees means any person by whatever name called (including an apprentice) employed or engaged in any employment for hire or reward to do any work relating to promotion of Sales or business or both", according to Ramesh Sundar, General Secretary, Tamil Nadu Medical and Sales Representatives Association, an affiliate of FMRAI. He said that the companies should note that the Act specifies about the nature of work, whatever the nomenclature may be, in deciding the job of the employee.