.jpg?width=1200)
Mumbai: The strike by Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees demanding a salary hike and other benefits escalated on its second day, creating significant difficulties for passengers, especially with the upcoming Ganesh festival. The strike has resulted in widespread disruption of bus services, with 70% of scheduled trips canceled on Wednesday, leading to a substantial revenue loss for the state-run transport corporation.
According to MSRTC officials, out of the scheduled 40,069 bus trips on Wednesday, 27,470 were canceled due to the strike. This has caused an estimated revenue loss of around Rs 22 crore on Wednesday alone, following a similar loss of around Rs 15 crore reported on Tuesday.
In an attempt to mitigate the impact on passengers, particularly those traveling for the Ganesh festival, the MSRTC administration is considering hiring drivers on a contractual basis from outside the organization.
However besides of strike, out of the total of 1,000 Ganpati special bus services scheduled to depart from Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar regions on Wednesday, 306 buses managed to depart from the Mumbai region, and 336 from Thane. Palghar region saw 150 of its special bus services depart as planned. The remaining buses are expected to leave by late Wednesday night, according to MSRTC officials.
Demanding salary parity with state government employees and seeking a pay scale adjustment to match that of their counterparts in the state sector, the MSRTC staffers launched the strike on Tuesday. An MSRTC spokesperson said due to the strike called by the action committee of 11 workers unions, a total of 96 out of the total 251 bus depots were completely shut, 82 partially shut and only remaining 73 were operational.
In the morning, 63 bus depots were completely shut, but the figure rose to 96 by afternoon. The count of partially-shut depots also increased from 73 to 82, the official said.
"The strike spread fast in Marathwada and North Maharashtra regions in second day, where 26 and 32 depots were completely shut on Wednesday" he said. But the Mumbai-Pune premium Electric-Shivneri bus service is not affected because these buses are on wet lease contract, the official said.
The corporation is planning to hire drivers on long-term contracts and invited bids from manpower supply agencies for qualified drivers who possess licence to drive heavy vehicles with one year experience and public service vehicle badge, which is mandatory for plying public service vehicles like buses, the officials added.
The MSRTC administration said that an industrial court has declared the strike as illegal and instructed the trade unions and employees to resume work on Tuesday, besides of that strike was countinue of Wednesday.
Due to the strike, passengers across the state are facing inconvenience. Besides the regular services, the operations of the MSRTC's extra Ganesh festival special buses were also affected.
The corporation has also instructed local authorities to file FIRs against individuals obstructing employees willing to join duty and video record such incidents.
