CHENNAI: The transport workers’ strike in Tamil Nadu intensified on Thursday, with workers from central unions joining in with an indefinite fast at the Pallavan House, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation headquarters in Chennai. The state government has remained cool to the 8-day old industrial action, while thousands of commuters suffered.

The 17 main unions and 29 small ones have rejected a government offer to pay Rs7.5 billion arrears. The workers demand Rs50 billion deducted from their salaries to be paid back, even as the state assembly has moved to approve a bill that doubles salaries of MLAs to Rs100,000 plus.

Apart from arrears, the unions seek a 2.57 times hike in salaries while the government sticks to a 2.44 offer.

The government has not taken any fresh initiative for talks with the unions. Opposition DMK-backed Labour Progressive Federation (LPF) sought the appointment of a retired judge to start the talks.

The LPF said monthly salaries should be on a par with permanent state government employees as per 2.57 multiplication factor. Secondly, deductions worth Rs5 0 billion made from salaries of existing employees towards social security schemes should be given back.

Thirdly, terminal benefits of retired transport employees should be released. Finally, government should remove discrepancies in pay scale within the department.

Striking crew had besieged the Labour Welfare Board building in Teynampet on Wednesday. On Thursday, as the indefinite fast started, workers of over six different Central unions joined.

The Madras High Court on Thursday took up petitions against the strike. Suburban trains were over-crowded on Thursday and taxis and auto rickshaws were reaping huge money.

The Metro Rail has announced special trains. The Southern Railway is running additional services.

The government has, meanwhile, released the bus schedule for Pongal holidays starting on Monday. Officials said the government is planning to rope in additional drivers and conductors, besides hiring buses of schools, colleges and private companies.

The state assembly session entered the fourth day, with lesser noise about the bus strike. Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami announced that the golden jubilee of the renaming of Madras province as Tamil Nadu or the land of Tamils will be celebrated on Jan.17.

Tamil Nadu, once a part of Madras State was formed in 1950. The Madras State at that period included Tamil Nadu, Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, Malabar region of North Kerala and parts of Karnataka like Bellary, South Canara and Udipi districts. Slowly, the states started separating from each other and in 1969, the Madras State was renamed as Tamil Nadu.

A new legislation to directly elect mayors of city corporations and chairpersons of municipalities and town panchayats was presented in the Assembly.

Minister SP Velumani said the new method will give better administration in local bodies, enabling government to serve people better.

The present system of electing mayors and chairpersons through councillors was brought by former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in 2016.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said 488 new multi-storeyed buildings will be constructed by the slum clearance board at the Mylapore Velleeswar temple garden after clearing the existing tenements.

He was answering to a question raised by Mylapore MLA R Nataraj.