KOCHI: The joint action committee of private bus operators has decided to call off the proposed indefinite strike following an assurance from the government on their demands.
The committee, which coordinates 12 unions of bus operators held an online meeting on Saturday morning and decided to withdraw the strike considering the steps taken by the government to hike the bus fare.
The action committee had given a call for an indefinite strike from December 21 demanding a hike in fare considering the rise in operational expense, an increase in student concession fare, and relaxation in road tax.
“We have decided to postpone the strike as the government has given an assurance that a favourable decision will be taken soon. I had contacted Transport minister Antony Raju also on Friday, who assured that steps are being taken to revise the bus fare. In these circumstances, we decided to wait. Besides, there is a general feeling that it is not right to cause inconvenience to the public during the festival season,” said Kerala State Private Bus Operators Federation general secretary Lawrence Babu.
The minister had held talks with private bus operators, students unions, and Justice M Ramachandran Commission, which has been tasked to look into fare revision.