Transport strike called off as unions, government reach accord

CHENNAI: The proposed indefinite strike by transport workers has been called off, following an agreement reached between the unions and the state government. The unions, which have been seeking wage revision among other issues, have accepted the government’s proposal to sanction `1,200 per employee as interim relief.

Talks between the State Transport Department and 47 different unions were held in Chennai on Monday in the backdrop of the unions’ earlier announcement that they would go on strike from Tuesday if talks failed.M Shanmugam, general secretary, Labour Progressive Federation (LPF), told reporters, “The government has agreed to increase our pay as per recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission and settle pending dues worth Rs 7,000 crore within the next three months.”

State Transport Minister MR Vijayabaskar, who chaired the meeting, said that the cases related to clearing of dues to retired employees were pending in the court. “Interim relief (Rs 1,200 per head) would be provided to serving employees until the final decision was made.”

Sources in the State Transport Department said that this move would incur an an additional expenditure of Rs 15 crore every month. The next round of talks is expected to take place in December.