Tamil Nadu Bus Strike Enters Eighth Day Despite Transport Unions Accepting 2.44 Percent Wage Hike

Chennai, January 11: Transport workers Unions continued to disrupt normal life in Tamil Nadu for the eighth consecutive day today. The strike has been called by about 11 trade unions demanding a wage hike and payment of arrears. The Madras High Court on Wednesday urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately implement the wage hike of 2.44%. As per ANI report, the striking Transport unions in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday agreed to accept the 2.44 percent wage hike. The union also urged the Madras High Court to direct the state government to hold talks with them.

The Madras Court has also urged striking Transport unions to resume to work immediately. The court had also reiterated that the public should not be inconvenienced with festive season around the corner, and said that the government should immediately implement the wage hike of 2.44 percent.

As per details by LiveMint, under the Tamil Nadu Payment of Salaries (Amendment) Bill, the monthly pay for MLAs will increase from Rs55,000 to Rs1.05 lakh, while pension will go up to Rs20,000 from Rs12,000. Reports state that a division bench comprising justices S Manikumar and M Govindaraj asked the counsel appearing for the trade unions to inform their decision to the court on Thursday.  The bench posted to January 11 the further hearing of a batch of petitions relating to the "flash strike" by Tamil Nadu transport corporation workers.

About 60,000 TNSTC employees had been abstaining from work during these 8 days.  The protest was called against authorities as they refused to accept the demands of the striking employees who have been seeking higher wages. To recall, scores of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) staff joined the strike, crippling normal life across the state.  The protesters were reported to have caused inconvenience to the people ahead of the festive season as state-run buses play a major role in transporting hundreds of thousands daily.

The bench said it was clear from the transport union leaders that they will not withdraw the strike unless the government comes forward and decide the issue. The bench stated that the larger public interest should be taken into account and that everybody should not be affected including workers. At least for five days during Pongal, they could ply the buses. The Bench further said that the issues relating to negotiations and settlements could be decided on January 17.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 11, 2018 11:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).