BMTC staff take the buses off roads

 The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) employees took buses off the roads on Wednesday night itself in response to various KSRTC and BMTC unions’ strike to be held on Thursday. As a result, the commuters faced a lot of trouble.

 The unions accused of the management of wilfully backtracking on earlier promises of dishing out another unilateral wage hike of 10 per cent on August 25. “There is no question of negotiations. Their demands are illegal.

 If we give in to their demands we will be forced to increase fares which will burden the general public,” said N Manjunatha Prasad, Managing Director of KSRTC.  He added that KSRTC this year had declared the highest ever increase in salary.

 “This 10 per cent hike is only in basic salary, we have also increased the DA and this amounts to a 23 per cent hike for people working in Bangalore and around 18 per cent for employees outside,” he added. Meanwhile, several KSRTC buses withdrew their services on Wednesday.

 Of the 210 buses that usually ply between Bangalore and Hassan, only 180 turned up on Wednesday. The KSRTC bus terminus at Majestic has a total of 2,400 departures and arrivals on a normal day, a transport official at the terminus said.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com