The strike by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees for salary hikes and other demands entered the second day on Wednesday, which continued to cripple the services and cause inconvenience to lakhs of passengers, especially ahead of the Ganesh festival. The workers want a compensation scale change to match that of their state sector counterparts and want salary parity with state government employees.
An MSRTC spokesperson said that due to the strike called by the action committee of 11 trade unions, 63 of its total 251 bus depots, 63 were completely shut, 73 were partially closed and the remaining 115 were fully operational.
In an attempt to find a solution, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde called a meeting with the leaders of the MSRTC labour union on Wednesday night at the Sahyadri Guest House.
Passengers throughout the state are experiencing inconvenience as a result of the strike. Besides the regular services, the operations of the MSRTC's extra Ganesh festival special buses were also affected. Starting September 7, the festival will last for ten days.
According to MSRTC authorities, between September 3 and 7, 5,000 additional festival special buses—including 4,300 services reserved by groups—were expected to run from the divisions of Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar. More than 1,000 such buses were scheduled to depart for Konkan on Wednesday.
The MSRTC administration said that an industrial court had declared the strike illegal and instructed the trade unions and employees to resume work. The corporation has also instructed local authorities to file FIRs against individuals obstructing employees willing to join duty and video record such incidents.
In response to the strike's impact, the MSRTC is considering the appointment of drivers and other staff on long-term agreements to ensure uninterrupted service.
(Inputs from PTI)
