Employees at more than 40 bus depots of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) continued their strike on Thursday, even as the Bombay High Court has directed them to refrain from doing so, officials said.
Till 10 am, over 40 of the 250 depots of the MSRTC were shut due to the employees' strike over their main demand for the merger of the transport undertaking with the state government, they said.
A section of the MSRTC employees is on an unannounced strike since October 28 seeking merger of the cash-strapped corporation with the state government, according to union sources.
A union leader, who did not wish to be named, told PTI that 59 depots were shut on Thursday morning, but later some of them resumed work and at around 10 am, 45 depots were closed.
The high court, while hearing an urgent leave petition filed by the MSRTC on Wednesday evening, directed the corporation's employees to refrain from going on strike. The HC will hear the plea on Thursday.
Maharashtra transport minister Anil Parab on Wednesday said a discussion on the demand for merger of the MSRTC with the state government and other issues related to the loss-making corporation will take place after Diwali.
Parab gave the assurance after a meeting with Pravin Darekar, the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, the MSRTC earlier said in a release. according to a release issued by the MRSRTC.
Last week, MSRTC employees started a "spontaneous" agitation over their various demands, including those related to salary.
A majority of them returned to work after the state government accepted most of their demands, but the issue of merger remains unresolved.
The MSRTC is one of the biggest state transport corporations in the county with a fleet of more than 16,000 buses and around 93,000 employees, including drivers and conductors.
The corporation used to ferry over 65 lakh passengers daily before the coronavirus outbreak last year.
