Bus strike cripples TN on third straight day
NEW DELHI: Bus services in Tamil Nadu continue to be paralysed for the third consecutive day on Saturday even as the government is scurrying to make alternative arrangements.
On Saturday, a temporary driver, filling in for striking road transport employees, rammed a corporation bus in Tirupur into a house.
“This is what you get when you have anyone driving the bus, which is specialised work,” said C. Muthukumaran a driver working with the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) in Chennai said about the government move to deploy temporary drivers. He is among the thousands who went on strike for higher pay.
The government has been advertising the posts of temporary drivers over the past two days. Anyone who had passed Class X and possessed a valid driving license was to be hired to operate the fleets of the different corporations in the state.
In several cities and towns, bus services were completely crippled. The striking workers defied the Madras HC’s Friday order asking them to withdraw the strike or face stern action. But the workers defied the court orders and carried on with the strike on Saturday as well.
Transport workers union leaders said they will challenge the HC order that they allege was one-sided and gave no chance to workers to represent their case.
Tamil Nadu transport minister MR Vijayabhaskar said on Saturday, “I appeal to employees to come back for duty, honorable court has also asked them to come back.” He also threatened the workers with dire consequences if they did not return to work.
While in Chennai 53% of the buses were plying, in Nilgiri it was 40%, in Tirupur it was 30%, and in Kanyakumari it was 30%.
Meanwhile, another state minister, KC Veeramani gave a dressing down to the policemen on the street, asking why were they allowing the striking workers to stop those wanting to come back. “Why are you not taking action against them,” the minister was seen telling them in a report on private television.
Meanwhile, DMK working president MK Stalin urged the chief minister to end the imbroglio by holding talks with the unions. Stalin spoke with the chief minister over phone and made this request.