PUNE: The six-month-old Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) strike is over. Shekhar Channe, vice chairman and managing director of the transport body, said that except for some 1,000 employees, the rest had reported back to work.
“Nearly all have come back, and we are moving towards normalcy of operations. The 1,000-odd employees who have not reported won’t be allowed to join now since the set date of April 22 by the high court has gone by. Strict departmental action will be initiated against them,” the senior official said.
The strike, demanding the merger of the corporation with the state government began on October 29 last year and was the longest the MSRTC has witnessed. Nearly 90,000 employees took part and did not work for nearly six months despite the state government’s repeated requests and action in the form of dismissals and suspensions. The transport body, which runs around 18,000 buses each day, has run into losses of more than Rs 1,500 crore.
Another official said that getting all the buses operational will take some time. “Many buses have not been operational due to the strike. Technicians, drivers and conductors were part of the strike. We are working towards making the full fleet operational. It should take less than a week,” the official said.
At the Pune division, around 700 buses of the total 800 had been made operational, a senior official said. “The rest need some maintenance and work is going on. Very few employees in the division have not reported to work. They were part of the group that took part in the attack on the residence of NCP chief Sharad Pawar earlier this month and are currently facing legal action. We hope to be fully operational this week,” the official said.
An employee, who was on strike, but has joined duty now in Pune, said the agitation was going nowhere. “The attack on Pawar’s residence scared us. Moreover, it had been six months and the state government and the court had clearly said that the merger was not possible. Also, our wages were increased. Without salary, my family was suffering,” the driver said.
All the 250-odd depots in the state wore a deserted look as the strike came into full force and employees particiapted in full force. Their absence from work had halted the the public transportation system in its tracks that goes to the remotest of places and affecting lakhs of people who depend on state buses for travel. Though private carriers stepped in, they could not match the demand and reach of the ST buses.
