CHENNAI: Hundreds of thousands of people were left stranded on roads across Tamil Nadu on Thursday evening as a section of bus drivers abruptly struck work and asked passengers to disembark.
It all began around 5 pm after drivers learnt about the failure of the day-long talks trade union representatives had with transport minister MR Vijayabhaskar. People and children returning from offices, colleges and schools were left with little option to reach home.
The agitation is expected to continue on Friday with around 50 per cent of the buses staying off the roads as unions affiliated to opposition DMK and CITU have not agreed to the government offer.
“I boarded a bus to Ayyapanthangal from Broadway. But the conductor said the bus would be halted at Vadapalani and we would have to get down. I finally took a cab to reach home and ended up shelling out what I would spend for five days of travel for my work,” said K Jagadeesh, who works as a male nurse at a hospital.
The situation was similar in many cities and towns in the State. Those who wanted to head home in interior villages in some districts were the most affected. But in a few places, buses plied till around 8 pm, allowing a majority of people to reach home safely.
Sticky point in the formula
Unions demanded a wage hike by a 2.57 multiplication factor, but govt’s offer was 2.41 for those who put in six years of service
In other words, for an employee whose basic pay was `10,000, the new basic sought was `25,700, but govt offered max `24,100