CHENNAI: Buses will ply as usual on Monday, said senior officials of the State Transport Department, after an unannounced strike on Sunday by staff belonging to opposition unions crippled normal life in the city and elsewhere.
Workers belonging to transport unions affiliated to opposition parties had announced an indefinite strike from Monday, which was advanced by a day without any warning, causing serious disruption of services that in turn threw life out of gear in the city.
Officials of the department charged the agitating workers, including the DMK-affiliated LPF workers union, of not following what they accepted during negotiations, claiming that all buses belonging to government transport corporations will ply on Monday even if the LPF members behaved illegally contradictory to the rules.
Leaders of the unions, on the other hand, claimed it was the transport corporations’ management’s decision to cut salary of thousands of workers for not attending work, while taking part in union activities, which triggered the protest on Sunday. They added that the indefinite strike will begin from Monday as announced. With offices being closed and educational institutions on Christmas leave, the impact of the strike was a lot muted on Sunday compared to the impact it may have caused on weekdays.
However, thousands of people were still stranded at Central and Egmore stations, CMBT and other transport hubs. This included hundreds who had come to the city to attend the National Eligibility Test and the postmaster examination held by the Department of Posts.
Exploiting the situation, autos, share autos and taxis had a field day, charging exorbitant fare.