Mumbai: Almost the entire fleet of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), that is 18,000 buses, did not ply in Mumbai and Pune on the first day of Diwali on Tuesday. The MSRTC Kamgar Union had called for the strike from midnight of Tuesday after negotiations to implement the 7th Pay Commission failed, leaving lakh of passenger in the lurch as they made their way to their hometown on Dhanteras. It is the first instance of the MSRTC workers’ unions going on strike on the eve of Diwali as they otherwise refrain from skipping work on festive days, as it inconveniences the public.
The trouble started early on Tuesday when the majority of the Union leaders and members were angered after the state government did not show any signs of relenting to any of the workers demands. One of the major things that has angered the workers is the fact that the government had earlier said that a mere 10 per cent hike from the current salary might be considered, roughly translating to Rs 700 increase to those with Rs 7,000 basic salary.
The MSRTC transports more than 60 lakh passengers on intra-city and inter-city routes, besides providing city bus service in cities like Vasai-Virar, Nalasopara and Nashik. The strike was lead by Maharashtra State ST Kamagar Sanghatana (MSSKS) and had managed to rally support from six other labour unions, albeit unrecognised ones.
The unions tactfully decided to pull support a few hours before midnight. Mumbai saw only 28 buses plying from its fleet of 680 on Tuesday while the whole of the state, which sees 23,500 services daily, saw almost 95 per cent of them non-operational. Even though the state roped in 2,000 taxis and 200 private transport buses, passengers like Sandeep Achrekar had to pay double to make their way to Pune. CM Devendra Fadnavis had warned the union, asking its workers to come to work by 5 pm.
