BMRCL Union files case against Metro management

BENGALURU: Charging the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited management of partial non-payment of promised dues, the Bangalore Metro Rail Employees Union (BMREU) has filed a case against it at the Central Government Industrial Tribunal cum Labour Court in Goraguntepalya on Thursday. It was a major tussle related to payment between the employees and the management that resulted in the Union calling for an indefinite strike call last year. 
The strike that was supposed to begin from March 22, 2018, was stalled when the High Court and the Industrial Tribunal intervened. 

Speaking to The New Indian Express BMREU vice-president Suryanarayana Murthy said, “We approached the Tribunal on Thursday and filed a claim statement on behalf of the employees. The Third Pay Commission’s recommendations have not been fully implemented by the management. As a result of this, employees who are to get an additional income ranging between `4,500 and `15,000, have not got them.”

In the perks proposed by the Third Pay Commission for Metro Corporations across the country, the hike proposed under various categories, including uniform allowance and shift allowance, has to be 31.5 per cent of the basic pay, Murthy pointed out. “Bangalore Metro employees have only been paid 20 per cent as the perk amount. The fitment to be paid has only been hiked by 7.5 per cent instead of 15 per cent,” he said. Fitment refers to the amount added to the salary by calculating 15 per cent of the amount on the basic salary and DA, which would be the basis for the salary structure for next year. 

Murthy said, “Even these increments need to be implemented retrospectively from January 1, 2017, but they have only been done from January 1 this year.” The Union represents nearly 1,300 permanent employees, Murthy added. BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth did not comment on the issue. The Tribunal has asked BMRCL to give its response in the next hearing scheduled for July 17. 

BMRCL’s losses for 2018-19 touch D462 cr

Bengaluru: The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited has incurred accounting losses worth D462 crore for the financial year 2018-2019, an increase from D352 crore reported the previous year. Accounting losses take depreciation of assets held by the corporation into consideration. The financial results for the year was placed before the Board meeting held on Thursday. The statement showed an operational revenue of D404 crore and an income of D134 crore earned from non-revenue operations. It showed expenses of D9.82 crore toward employee benefits, up from D7.96 crore the previous financial year. Managing Director BMRCL Ajay Seth said, “Overall loss for 2018-2019 stands at around D26 crore. It is a decrease from last year.”