MTC staff go on flash strike over pay cut, commuters unaware

After workers realised the cut in their November salary, protests were staged around 11.30 am at Tiruvanmiyur, which then spread to depots including Iyyappanthangal, Anna Nagar, KK Nagar, Vadapalani, Adambakkam, Ambattur and Avadi. This severely hampered the movement of commuters in these areas. “Commuters had to opt for other modes of transport,” said a passenger in Anna Nagar.

State Employees Union (CITU) president P Balakrishnan said the Confederation of Transport Workers’ Union – comprising of 10 unions including CITU, HMS, AITUC, LPF and MLF — had organised a sit-in protest in front of MTC office on Pallavan Salai on November 26 to highlight pending demands.

The management treated that day as absent instead of leave, and also cancelled their rest day in the same week to compensate for the lost working hours. But many workers failed to report on their rest days, which was then marked as absent.

“Workers’ salary was deducted only at the depots where the protests were staged. When asked, the management refused to take responsibility for taking the decision,” said LPF (DMK) treasurer K Natarajan.

The stir came to end around 3.30 pm after MTC Managing Director Anbu Abraham held talks with the protesters. “The management has assured that weekly day off will not be cancelled hereafter. Also, the absent day will be treated as leave and the deducted money will be reimbursed,” Balakrishnan said. MD Anbu Abraham said the corporation had to consult the government before arriving at any decision.

Meanwhile, the confederation has submitted a letter to the government requesting it to deduct either one day’s salary or Rs 1,000, whichever is lower, as contribution to the CM’s Relief Fund. According to Netaji Transport Workers’ Union vice-president MV Ramamoorthy, many among the staff had deductions up to Rs 3,000 from their last month’s salary.