Roadways staff strike puts govt on tenterhooks

Chandigarh: The strike by the Haryana Roadways employees is giving tense moments to the BJP government in the state.

Various khaps in the state have backed the 16-day strike by the state transport employees. Besides, the employee unions of other departments have joined the strike for two days.

The state transport employees are protesting against the privatisation of transport by the Khattar government. The state government has decided to hire 700 buses from private owners. The Haryana transport corporation is a key employer for the people of rural areas. The move to hire private buses is seen as an attempt by the Khattar government to benefit big transporters.

The ongoing protests of Haryana Roadways’ employees saw massive support from the workers of various sectors, including Anganwadi, ASHA workers, midday meal workers, rural cleaning personnel, forest workers, researchers, teachers and labourers. In a first, the multiple demonstrations on October 30 saw nearly 2 lakh workers across Haryana extending their support to the protesting roadways’ workers.

To further complicate the matters, striking Haryana government employees were cane-charged at Fatehabad and Bhiwani leaving several injured. The police have blamed them for throwing stones while the agitators have claimed they were protesting peacefully.

The employee organisations of all departments had given a strike call for two days, to extend support to Haryana roadways employees. Government employees protested at Bhuna where chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar was scheduled to address a public meeting.

The roadways employees have been on strike against the government’s move to induct 700 private buses, forcing the state transport department to suspend long-route bus service. The Haryana Roadways is understaffed with inadequate number of buses. Officials say it has 17,000 employees and 7,000 vacancies. It has only 4,100 buses. Given the demand, the state needs 15,000 more buses and 80,000 employees.

Employee union leaders Harinarayan Sharma and Sarbat Singh Punia say inducting private buses is a step towards privatisation. They say that the government, which spends about Rs 35 a km on a bus, is now ready to pay the chosen few Rs 49 a km. The union leaders want the government to buy new buses and fill the 7,000 vacancies. They say 500 buses are lying unused for want of drivers or conductors. The leaders sought a rollback of the private buses scheme.

The Haryana roadways is considered amongst the better transport services in the region. The fact that the state transport is a big employer for the people of rural areas, the issue could snowball into a major political issue in the election year.

Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda  alleged that the administrative machinery in the state has “collapsed” after government employees from other departments joined the strike.

Due to public inconvenience, roadways employees assured the Punjab and Haryana high court that they will call off their strike on Saturday.