Scrap plan to operate pvt buses in Chennai, unions urge Stalin

CHENNAI: Federation of Trade Unions in the Transport Corporations, including DMK affiliated LPF, CITU, and AITUC has written to the Chief Minister seeking intervention to scrap the plan to operate the private buses in Chennai on a contract basis. In a letter to the chief minister, the nine trade unions also recalled the nationalisation of private buses in 1973 by then chief minister M Karunanidhi. Pointing out the attempt by Jayalalithaa government in 2001 to privatise 50 per cent of the transport corporation buses, they said the AIADMK government dropped the proposal after Karunanidhi declared the government would take over private buses when it comes to power.

The unions also sought to roll back the decision to appoint the drivers, conductors, technical and office staff on a contract basis to fill up vacancies. They also wanted the government to cancel the GOs 321 to 328 issued by the previous AIADMK government against the interest of the transport corporation workers.

MTC has floated a tender to appoint a transaction advisor to assist it in the selection of the private operator under the GCC basis. According to the tender document, MTC is required to contract buses equivalent to a service capacity of 500 buses by 2023 on a performance-based GCC and another 500 buses by 2025.

Following protests by the trade unions, Transport minister SS Sivasankar said the state government would take the final call on operating the private buses on the MTC routes. “The tender floated is for appointing a consultant to study the feasibility,” he told reporters on Monday.