MSRTC bus services resume across Maharashtra as workers' call off strike after salary hike assurance

Waiting at the Parel bus depot on Wednesday, passengers to the Konkan region were inconvenienced by the MSRTC workers’s strike. Pic/Atul Kamble

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation spokesperson, on Thursday morning, said that regular operations across all depots in the state have resumed. On Wednesday evening, the workers of MSRTC called off their strike after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde assured them of a salary hike--one of their primary demands.

The spokesperson of MSRTC said, "All 251 depots have resumed regular operations this morning. Buses coming to Mumbai for more traffic have left from that depot and today and tomorrow more traffic will pass smoothly without any hindrance."

MSRTC workers' strike: Workers call off protest

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) called off its strike late on Wednesday night after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met with the agitating workers' action committee and promised to implement a hike of Rs 6,500 in basic salary for MSRTC employees. The meeting was held at the Sahyadri Guest House.

Passengers travelling to Konkan for the Ganesh festival were impacted by the MSRTC workers' strike, which resumed on Wednesday for the second day in a row. Nearly 70 per cent of the buses sat idle, and 94 out of the 251 bus facilities in the state were nonoperational. An estimated loss of Rs 22 crore was incurred by the public transport corporation.

The spokesperson further stated that 92 bus depots were partially affected while 65 were completely operational on Wednesday. The official further stated that of the scheduled 40,069 buses, 27, 470 were cancelled due to the strike call.

"Of the 1,000 scheduled additional buses each from Mumbai, Thane and Palghar bus depots, 306 were operational in Mumbai, 336 in Thane and 150 in Palghar. Efforts are on to operate the remaining buses in the night," the spokesperson said.

MSRTC workers' strike: Passengers grumble over paucity of buses

According to a mid-day report, after waiting for two hours, passengers outside of Mumbai and in the state's rural areas grumbled about the paucity of buses. Bus depots like Sawantwadi, which get extremely crowded during the Ganesh festival, appeared desolate, with buses arranged in a queue and no employees on board.

The 11 trade union action committee has called for a walkout in support of several demands, including the payment of dearness allowance arrears and a pay revision comparable to those of state government employees. The state administration finds itself in a difficult situation as BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar and BJP ally MLC Sadabhau Khot have both ironically endorsed the walkout.