Mumbai, Sep 3 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday appealed to Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees to call off the strike and assured them of a meeting on Wednesday to discuss their issues.
Employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation went on an indefinite strike on Tuesday morning. The action committee of 11 trade unions of the employees has called for an indefinite strike. Services have been halted at more than 50 of the 251 depots in the state since 8 am. However, some bus services are partially operational during this time.
CM Shinde has appealed to the employees to end the strike.
CM Shinde said, “The government has called a meeting on Wednesday. A meeting was already held to discuss various issues of MSRTC employees. The state transport corporation buses are the lifeline of Maharashtra, which go to every village. Ganeshotsav is near. Many citizens use buses to go to the market. So I appeal to MSRTC employees not to go on strike. The government will resolve your issues.”
The employees who went on strike are demanding salary equal to that of state government employees. They have strongly opposed privatisation but have demanded more funds from the state government for sustainable operations. However, despite Chief Minister Shinde’s appeal, MSRTC employees have decided to continue their strike.
According to trade union sources, most of the MSRTC depots in Latur and Nanded divisions of Marathwada are closed due to the strike, while buses are running smoothly in Kolhapur and Solapur divisions of western Maharashtra.
Apart from this, the depots of Shivajinagar, Vallabhnagar, Bhor, Saswad, Baramati and Talegaon in Pune district are also closed. Similarly, many depots including Miraj, Jat and Palus in Sangli district are closed in view of the strike.
–IANS
FM/AKJ
