Mumbai: The employees of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) will get their pending salary dues for Dec 2022 as the State Government has approved to release ₹223 crore to the transport body as against its demand of ₹360 crore. The amount was released at Mantralaya during a meeting on Thursday with Principal Secretary (Transport) Parag Jain. The unions have called it a half-hearted decision.
MSRTC employees have been protesting for their salaries for the past few years. The corporation has been facing serious financial issues and not making profits. It was to receive ₹360 crore per month as per the State Government’s assurance to the Bombay High Court during the strike in 2021.
Srirang Barage, the General Secretary of Maharashtra ST workers’ union, said, “This won’t clear the total salary of employees. The government has gone back on its given word. This is cheating.”
Workers had held a protest at Azad Maidan in past
The pending salaries of MSRTC workers has been a point of hot debate since the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray was in power. The workers had then held a protest at Azad Maidan. BJP leaders Sadabhau Khot and Gopichand Padalkar had joined the workers in their agitation and blamed the then government for the deteriorating condition of workers.
Being a state entity, MSRTC subsidises travel for various communities and groups. The subsidy amount nears ₹1,145 crore and is to be paid by the state but has been pending, resulting in the corporation facing losses of up to ₹3,000 crore
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