Bus strike looks imminent from May 15 as talks fail

Meanwhile, the state labour department has called the representatives of various unions for talks again on Friday. 

After several rounds of meetings, transport minister MR Vijayabhaskar invited representatives for talks to find a solution to their demands. Accordingly, the meeting started on Thursday morning at Pallavan House. Representatives from around 11 unions participated. 

The employees demanded that Rs 7,000 crore be allotted for all purposes, including salary hike, disbursing pension arrears and other payments to existing employees. However, the transport officials were reluctant to allot such a huge amount and they agreed to disburse a meagre Rs 750 crore. 

A Soundararajan, president of Tamil Nadu State Transport Employees Federation (TNSTEF), told DTNext that it was impossible for them to come to terms with the government. “Officials are not ready to heed to our demands. They are giving the same explanation citing poor financial condition of the transport corporation,” he said, adding, they would go ahead with the strike as announced.

When asked about the possibility on cancelling or deferring the strike, Soundararajan said, “Let us wait and see what happens on Friday. However, we don’t have any hope of a positive outcome. Anyway, we will stick to our demands.” 

When contacted, one of the state transport officials said that they tried their best to convince the employees by allotting the amount in phases. “We assured the employees that their demands will be met in a phased manner. Since the transport department is facing losses, we cannot allot such a huge amount in one stroke, but it can be done in phases,” said an official, who was a member of the talks panel.