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The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) strike has entered 16th day on Friday though some staffers have resumed work at workshops of the transport. "All 250 depots are shut across the state, but scores of employees at workshops have returned to work," said a spokesperson of MSRTC.
The MSRTC workers began the indefinite strike on October 28 to demand the merger of the cash-strapped corporation with the Maharashtra government. The strike got intensified the post-Diwali celebration.
The MSRTC strike has paralysed the bus operation across the state as their 250 depots have remained shut for three consecutive days. Lakhs of passengers across the state continue to face hardships with no solution in sight to the issue. Meanwhile, the state-run corporation has so far suspended 2,053 employees from various depots for provoking and participating in the strike.
This week CM Thackeray appealed to the corporation's employees not to hold the poor people to ransom by continuing their protest. Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab, who is also the chairman of the MSRTC had met a delegation of the Maharashtra ST Employees Joint Action Committee on November 10 and appealed to the employees to call off their strike.
The state's transport minister said Maharashtra has 56 state-run corporations, and if the MSRTC unions' demand was ceded, other corporations will also demand merger with the government. "While merging a corporation, comprehensive thinking is needed. Parab pointed out that the state government has already appointed a committee to study the merger demand.
The MSRTC has filed a contempt petition in the Bombay High Court, saying the unions have continued the strike despite the HC declaring it illegal. The court has sought replies from the unions and will hear the matter on November 15.
The MSRTC has over 95,000 employees on its rolls and maintains a fleet of 16,000 buses.
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