The Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association (IDMA) has taken a stand that all medical representatives who want to take leave in the wake of the month-long, nationwide, relay strike called by the Federation of Medical Representatives Association of India (FMRAI) from April 9, 2002 can do so for the strike period.

There are around 1.20 lakh medical representatives in the country, sources say, adding hardly 10 per cent of them are contract employees. "We are concerned about the safety of our marketing staff during the strike," a senior IDMA source said here on condition of anonymity.

This means the strike days will be treated as leave by the managements provided the representative applies in advance for the same.

In places like Delhi and Bihar where the field reports are literally written from the union offices, the IDMA source said there was a likelihood of sincere workers being forced to enter the leave reason as strike which could cost them the pay for the three days.

The pharma managements are in a "wait and watch" mode. Companies also do not fear loss of business due to the strike as the doctors do not stop prescribing medicines because the MRs are on strike, he said.

However, it is too early to say how the strike would affect the business of companies. While the field staff will remain on leave, the managers are expected to attend to other administrative duties.

FMRAI vice president, J S Mazumdar had said in Hyderabad last month that the Federation is demanding a check in the increase of drug prices, commercialisation of healthcare system, growing dependence on imports, large scale marketing of products without bills by pharmaceutical companies for tax evasion and the entry of spurious medicines into the markets.

Implementation of the Sales Promotion Employees Act, recategorization of all sales promotion employees in single category, permanent recruitment, maintenance of service conditions, rationalisation of work system, implementation of minimum wages and other Labour Wages Act etc are some of the other demands of the Federation, according to our Hyderabad bureau.

The Association claims that MRs have been redesignated to do away with all their employment benefits and job security. The work that a pharma sales executive is expected to do is the same as that of a medical representative and the appointment is of a contractual nature. This has to be changed, an FMRAI source said here. The IDMA source said companies have started reverting to the earlier practice of regular employment of MRs.