The strike by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees for salary hike and other demands entered the second day on Wednesday, which continued to cripple the services and cause inconvenience to lakhs of passengers, especially ahead of the Ganesh festival. The employees are demanding salary parity with state government employees, seeking a pay scale adjustment to match that of their counterparts in the state sector.
An MSRTC spokesperson said that due to the strike called by the action committee of 11 trade unions, 63 of its total 251 bus depots, 63 were completely shut, 73 were partially shut and the remaining 115 were fully operational. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has convened a meeting with MSRTC trade union leaders at the Sahyadri Guest House on Wednesday evening in a bid to resolve the issue.
Due to the strike the passengers across the state are facing inconvenience. Besides the regular services, the operations of the MSRTC’s extra Ganesh festival special buses was also affected. The 10-day festival is starting on September 7. A total of 5,000 extra festival special buses, including 4,300 services booked by groups, were scheduled to operate between September 3 and 7 from Mumbai, Thane and Palghar divisions, MSRTC officials said. More than 1,000 such buses were scheduled to depart for Konkan on Wednesday.
The MSRTC administration said that an industrial court has declared the strike as illegal and instructed the trade unions and employees to resume work. The corporation has also instructed local authorities to file FIRs against individuals obstructing employees willing to join duty and video record such incidents. In response to the strike’s impact, the MSRTC is considering the appointment of drivers and other staff on long-term agreements to ensure uninterrupted service.