Thiruvananthapuram: Minister Antony Raju lashed out at the striking unions in KSRTC. The minister said it was unacceptable for the people to go on strike, disrupting the movement of people by touching and holding them, and that the government could not stand idly by when the people were experiencing travel difficulties.
The unions did not accept the proposal to pay 10 rupees. Let the management decide what they want next in terms of salary. If such struggles continue to plague the people, alternatives to public transport will have to be found. Didn’t the management ask for a five-day delay? Besides, the government has not said that it will not pay the salary and will never give it.
KSRTC did not pay the salary even though there was no money. The minister also asked why the unions were not protesting against the central government’s move to disrupt public transport through fuel prices.
Most services were disrupted
24 hour signal strike by unions leading KSRTC passengers on the road. The strike was called off by TDF, IITUC and BMS in protest of the uncertainty over pay. Although the CITU did not participate in the strike, most of the workers quit their jobs and many depots were left without a single service.
Out of a total of 3600 services, only 800 ran in 350 in the North Zone, 250 in the South Zone and 188 in the Central Zone. Most of these are ordinary services. It was announced that the strike would begin at midnight on Thursday, but the workers went on strike in the evening. Long-haul passengers who had reserved three tickets were cut off. Many who came to the depots from a distance had to return as there were no buses. As the bus was not expected to stop, KSRTC could not call the passengers.
On Friday morning, there was a severe traffic jam on the National Highway and MC Road. Students and commuters were the worst hit. Most of the depots had less than ten services. Depots from Adoor, Neyyattinkara, Mavelikkara, Guruvayur, Kattakada, Palakkad, Thrissur, Chengannur, Vadakara, Kulathupuzha, Pathanamthitta, Venjaramoodu, Harippad, Aluva, Kattappana, Mannarkkad, Mavelikkara, Perumbavoor, Karunagapally and Mala will be closed till 9 am. The strikers informed. Management Dyson had announced to deal with the strike but Asia did not.