Karnataka transport employees to go on indefinite strike from March 24: Report
State transport employees call for wage revision, increase in allowances, reinstatement of employees sacked during the April 2021 transport strike, among other demands.
State transport employees in Karnataka are set to go on an indefinite strike from March 24 in a bid to increase their wages, get more allowances, and a number of other demands. This could cause hindrance to lakhs of commuters on the daily, especially with the II PU (Pre-University) exams underway, a report said.
READ | KSRTC staff to hold protest over salary
This move also comes barely two months before the crucial upcoming assembly elections in the southern state. Government employees had held a 15-day transport strike demanding wage revision in April 2021, which had cost the government in millions of rupees and resulted in authorities firing more than 4000 workers across the four state-run transport corporations involved in the strike.
A conglomeration of four registered transport unions of KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC and KKRTC, called the 'Sarige Nigmagala Noukarara Samana Manaskara Vedike' gave the strike notice to the state labour commissioner on Wednesday.
The report quoted the union leader as saying, “We have decided to call for an indefinite strike from March 24 until our demands are met.”
READ | Bengaluru transport body to issue reappointment orders to staff sacked for 2021 strike
Transport department employees demand salary revision, increase in allowances, medical facilities, reinstatement of employees sacked after the April 2021 strike, implementation of shift system, stopping contract recruitment and filling vacancies, the report said.
However, officials from the Road Transport Corporation told the publication they had issued an order in December under the Karnataka Essential Services Management Act, 2013 barring strikes for six months, i.e., from January to June 2023.
