Roadways union, Haryana govt fail to break deadlock

CHANDIGARH:HARYANA Roadways employees’ union leaders and transport department officials, who held a meeting on Monday on the issue of roping in 700 private buses to ply on state roads, failed to reach any consensus.

Protesting against allotment of routes to private buses, roadways employees had gone on strike for 18 days since October 16. The Punjab and Haryana high court had to intervene to end the strike.

The court had instructed the state government and roadways employees’ leaders to sort out the issue before the next hearing scheduled for November 14.

The meeting was attended by several union leaders, including Harinarayan Sharma, Inder Singh Bhadana, Sarbat Punia, Dalbir Kirmara and Virender Singh Dhankar. From the government side, additional chief secretary (transport) Dhanpat Singh and director general (transport) Ramesh Chander Bidhan led the negotiations.

Roadways union leader Punia told newspersons after the meeting that the government has refused to accept their demand to withdraw the decision to rope in private buses and they would now take up the issue with chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Dhanpat Singh said the government cannot accept the union’s demand since it was a cabinet decision to allot routes to private buses. He said union leaders may now meet the CM.