CHENNAI: The first working day of the week is likely to be a challenge for MTC commuters with no solution in sight for the bus strike in the State. Trade unions, meanwhile, were determined to skip work for the fifth consecutive day. Adding to this, engaging temporary drivers is only creating safety fears among passengers and road users since on Sunday alone two fatal accidents involving buses driven by such drivers were reported in the State.
The Madras High Court will on Monday hear why the trade unions did not comply with its order to withdraw the strike. However, there was no change in the stance of either the unions or the government.
MTC officials said that on Sunday they managed to operate 54.1 per cent of services in Chennai city, suggesting that they would be able to repeat the same on Monday to manage the weekday rush. However, the union leaders said only 5 to 10 per cent of services were operated on Sunday and officials fudged the numbers to create an impression that services were not hit.
“Over 80 per cent of MTC buses have exceeded their lifetime and all technical workers are on strike. It’s a big risk to run them without maintenance,” said CITU state president of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation A Soundararajan.
Transport Minister M R Vijayabhaskar criticised the CITU, saying, “Many workers are yet to understand the exact wage hike given to them. Unions, including CITU, are misleading workers.” He said the accumulated dues from the government would be given at the time of retirement. “We settled `2,150 cr of dues to retired staff in the last eight months,” he said.
Ola, Uber slash fares
Ola and Uber have offered services at throwaway prices since Friday. Across Chennai, they offered rides for as low as `35 for three to four km in mini vehicles.