Bengaluru: The indefinite strike called by the State transport employees union evoked good response across the State and also put commuters into inconvenience. Around 1.25 lakh employees of KSRTC, BMTC, NEKRTC and NWKRTC had caused a loss of Rs 21 crore on Monday due to the strike. However, hope is now pinned on the fresh talks between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the representatives of the employees on Tuesday.
The government has also threatened to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) if talks fail. The Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) provides for non-bailable cases against government employees in some sectors if they refuse to show up for work. The arrested employees could face a year in jail, a fine of `5,000, or both.
The CM is supposed to have a meeting with Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy and other transport officials at 4pm on Tuesday to find solution to end the strike. According to sources, the government might announce a 12.5 per cent hike to the employees. The government has already offered a 10 per cent hike, but employees want 35.
Earlier in the day on Monday, Reddy had said that the talks will happen only after the strike was called off. There was no thought on revising the salaries as 50 per cent of the revenue generated in the four transport corporations was going towards staff salaries, he said.
Monday saw commuters in Bengaluru in complete inconvenience. Private transport was seen literally looting the commuters with high fares for short distances.