COIMBATORE: One of the untrained drivers, roped in to drive buses in Coimbatore, rammed into a roundabout on the eighth day of the statewide bus strike in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.
On January 4, an indefinite strike was called by transport unions, demanding a pay hike among other things, which prompted authorities to call untrained drivers to cater to the commuters.
Earlier too, temporary drivers were arranged to resume services in the state, but the fleet of buses had not been running at its maximum capacity.
Amidst the ongoing statewide strike, there were also reports of special buses being arranged for the MLAs.
Earlier on Sunday, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) working president MK Stalin urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy to initiate talks with transport employees and take suitable actions to end the ongoing strike in the state.
On the third day of strike, Tamil Nadu Transport Minister M.R. Vijayabaskar had appealed to bus employees to return to work.
The strike, following the failure of talks on wage revision and clearance of pending dues with Vijayabaskar, was declared on Thursday.
Transport workers have been demanding for a pay revision to Rs 30,000; however, the authorities have only agreed to pay them Rs 24,400 per month.