Transport unions to go on strike from May 15

The unions include Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Labour Progressive Front (LPF), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Tamil Nadu Transport Staff Federation (TTSF), Pattali Thozil Sangam (PTS), and Arivar Ambedkar Labour Front (AALF), DMTSP, MLF and DWU.

The talks slated to be chaired by the Transport Minister MR Vjiayabhaskar at noon was put off to 2 pm. And, it was finally conducted by the Transport Secretary Chandrakant B Kamble with the minister being absent. 

As talks with the government failed, a consultative meeting among the federation of several Trade Unions was held at Pallavan House late in the evening. Speaking after the meeting, A Soundararajan, president, Tamil Nadu State Transport Employees Federation (TSTEF) affiliated with CITU, said that at least 90 per cent of the buses in the entire fleet would be kept off the roads.

“They would try tactics of intimidation by employing workers on daily wages. The government may succeed by operating buses for one day with the ruling party workers. We hope considering our just demands, the ruling party’s Anna Thozhil Sangam (ATS) cadres too will join the strike,” said Soundararajan. 

“The government is operating buses in as many as 10,000 routes. These are loss making ones due to poor occupancy. It is done only to provide connectivity to remote locations. The deficit between the operating cost and the income should be borne by the State and necessary funds should be allocated. Because of non-allocation, the Transport Corporations together are incurring a loss of Rs 4 crore per day, which is a recurring expenditure. The 12th wage agreement had expired in August, and is yet to be renewed”, noted Arumugam Nainar, general secretary, TSTEF.