BENGALURU: The indefinite strike called by employees of four state-run road transport corporations inconvenienced commuters on Monday. Hopes are pinned on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s fresh round of talks with representatives of the agitating 1.25 lakh workforce on Tuesday.
The government has also threatened to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) if talks fail. The strike called by the employees of KSRTC, BMTC, NEKRTC and NWKRTC has caused a day’s revenue loss of about `17 crore apart from loss incurred due to the damage of buses.
Siddaramaiah is chairing a meeting with Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy and transport officials on Tuesday to discuss ways to end the strike. Sources said the meeting was likely to announce a 12.5 per cent hike as a last-ditch effort to end the deadlock.
The government has already offered a 10 per cent hike, but employees want 35.
The Cabinet, scheduled to meet at 4 pm on Tuesday, will discuss measures to bring the striking employees back to work.
The Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) provides for non-bailable cases against government employees in some sectors if they refuse to show up for work. The arrested employees could face a year in jail, a fine of `5,000, or both.
Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah and Reddy indicated they were open to the demands of the 1.25 lakh striking employees. However, the flexibility came with a rider: “Call off your strike, and then come for talks.”
Reddy said there was no proposal to go up to 12.5 per cent, but sources indicated otherwise. The transport corporations are suffering a daily revenue loss of about `17 crore due to the strike. About 150 buses were vandalised on Monday.
“We have gone up from 8 to 10 per cent. We cannot afford a bigger hike. Already, about 45-50 per cent of the revenue in these corporations is going towards salaries. A 12.5 per cent hike would mean an additional burden on the state exchequer,” said Reddy.
On Monday, Bengaluru was worst hit with commuters turning to app- based cab aggregators and auto rickshaws. Metro too increased the frequency of its rides.