BENGALURU: State road transport corporation employees have decided to go ahead with their indefinite strike from Tuesday, 6 am onwards, as the talks with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah failed. The strike will affect the operation of buses across Karnataka and outside, and is likely to cause inconvenience to lakhs of commuters who depend on Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for their commute.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court on Monday directed the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Trade Unions of KSRTC led by AITUC-affiliated KSRTC Staff and Workers' Federation to put on hold the proposed indefinite strike from August 5 for a day. The JAC is yet to respond to the HC's direction.
The JAC of trade unions of KSRTC, led by AITUC-affiliated KSRTC Staff and Workers' Federation, had called for an indefinite strike from August 5, citing various demands, including a 25 per cent pay hike with effect from January 1, 2024, settlement of pending salary arrears for 38 months (January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2023), and wage revision to be in effect for four years (from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2027).
On Monday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah chaired a high-level meeting, along with Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, President of the Federation HV Anantha Subbarao, and representatives of the JAC, at Vidhana Soudha. The negotiation meeting lasted for almost three hours.
Anantha Subbarao, who addressed the media after the meeting, said that they will go ahead with the strike. “Chief Minister Siddaramaiah remained non-committal on the 25 per cent wage hike revision from January 1, 2024. As against the clearance of 38 months' salary arrears, CM has agreed to pay only 14 months. Stalemate continued, and we are going ahead with the protest”, Anantha Subbarao said.
Replying to questions on the operations of private buses to counter the strike, Subbarao said that the government is free to do whatever it wants. “Let them (government) operate private buses or tempos to transport people. Our RTC employees will stay at home and not report to work”.
When asked about the government having invoked ESMA (Essential Services Maintenance Act) and having taken action against those who took part in the strike in 2020, Subbarao said, “We have served strike notice. Our employees will not budge to the threat of the government. Any victimisation of the transport employees will not be tolerated, and we will fight it out.”
Representatives of the JAC said that Siddaramaiah projects himself as a socialist CM but has not kept his word of fulfilling the demands of the transport employees, who strived day and night for the success of the Shakti scheme - one of the five guarantee schemes of the Congress-led state government.