Bengaluru Metro strike from tonight hinges on court verdict

BENGALURU: While the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has gone all out to ensure smooth operations of trains on Monday with huge manpower and security support from the state government in the face of the indefinite strike threat, the Bangalore Metro Rail Employees Union was closeted all Sunday discussing on how to go about the proposed strike from 9.30 pm (of Monday).
The strike call now fully depends on the high court verdict on the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). The hearing is likely to take place around noon on Monday.

The state government has already notified Metro as an Essential Service under the Karnataka ESMA Act 2013 and the Centre is also set to bring it under the Central ESMA shortly. The union has challenged the legality of invoking ESMA. In a similar hearing in the past, the court had asked them to hold many rounds of discussions to resolve the issue.

Union vice president Suryanarayana Murthy said, “None of the 35 issues we raised have been solved by the management. If the court verdict is in our favour, we will go on an indefinite strike from the third shift on Monday.”

Speaking to The New Indian Express, additional advocate general A S Ponnanna, who represents the state government in the ongoing case between the State and BMRCL Vs BMREU said, “The verdict tomorrow is going to be very interesting. Let us see if the court gives them permission to proceed with the strike. Even under the Industrial Disputes Act, the union’s strike is not tenable.”Ponnanna said, “Metro services cannot be held to ransom like this.”

Seconding the view, BMRCL Managing Director Mahendra Jain has reiterated stringent action against striking employees.“As per the Industrial Disputes Act, after the conciliation talks were declared as failed by the Labour

Commission, the Conciliation Officer needs to send the report to the government. A Board or a Tribunal needs to be constituted. Therefore, if they choose to go on strike we will have no option but to take strict disciplinary action against such employees,” he said.Another senior BMRCL official said, “If anyone resorts to strike tomorrow, they will be asked to go home permanently. It will be an outright dismissal.”