Hyderabad: The Hyderabad High Court on Saturday directed the employees of Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) to call off their strike in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. With the employees continuing their strike for a fourth day paralysing public transport, the common high court for both the states asked them to work immediately.
The vacation bench of the court passed interim orders on two PILs filed by two leaders of Andhra’s ruling Telugu Desam Party. It adjourned the hearing to May 12. The high court observed that the strike is illegal as there is ban on strikes in public sector undertakings in both the states, and that the strike is causing severe inconvenience to people, especially students appearing for various examinations in the two states. The bench also asked the state governments to form committees to look into the demands of the APSRTC workers.
Public road transport services in both the states remained paralysed for a fourth day on Saturday as 120,000 employees of APSRTC continued the strike, demanding pay revision.About 20,000 buses remained off the roads in the two states. The APSRTC management is running partial services with the help of contract drivers and conductors.The employees demanding 43 percent hike in wages at par with the other government employees. The management has agreed for 27 percent hike, citing poor financial condition of the corporation.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the situation caused by the strike at a high-level meeting. He asked the cabinet sub-committee to hold talks with leaders of trade unions. Meanwhile, YSR Congress Party Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy has expressed solidarity with the APSRTC employees. In a letter to the chief miinisters of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, he urged them to hold talks with the employees and redress their grievances.
