From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Jul 26: The State-wide indefinite strike by the employees of the various State Road Transport Corporations in Karnataka and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) completed the second day with both the State Government and the striking employees refusing to budge from their rigid stand leaving the passengers in the lurch.

While the State government, especially the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Transport Minister B Ramalinga Reddy have flatly refused to yield to the demand for a pay hike of 35 per cent as sought by the Striking employees and have announced that the State Government cannot go beyond its offer of a 10 per cent hike, the staff refused to withdraw the agitation.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who reviewed the situation with Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy and senior bureaucrats, declared that there is no question of the government considering the striking staff’s main demand for increasing wages by 35 per cent.

“We have increased their salaries by 10 per cent, which is causing an additional burden of over Rs. 1,500 crore. How can we increase it by 35 per cent?” the Chief Minister said.

The office-bearers of the employees’ unions of State Road Transport Corporations, said they were willing to negotiate on the quantum of hike.

But the State Government has taken a strong stand that it will hold talks with them only if they call off the strike.

The State Government, meanwhile, has taken the decision to run skeleton bus services of the KSRTC and BMTC in the State and in Bengaluru with police protection. Some of the trainy drivers were pressed into service to operate the buses.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said all the State-held road transport corporations would become “financially unviable” if staff salaries were increased beyond 10 per cent.

Countering the striking employees’ argument that their salaries were not comparable with their counterparts in neighbouring States, the Minister said “Let them show us how their salaries do not match.”

Employees’ Union leaders said they had tried several times to hold discussions with the government to prevent the strike, which was their last resort.

“The wage revision is the only issue where we have not managed to reach an agreement. We are ready to talk any time, but the government has to reach out to us. There has not been a single phone call or letter from their side inviting us for talks,” Assistant Treasurer, KSRTC Staff and Workers’ Federation A.N. Murthy said.

Murthy said union members who were causing the violence. “Look at buses parked inside the depots. They have not been damaged. If it was union-backed, then even these buses would have been targeted.”

Meanwhile, the State Government seems to be veering round to the possibility of invoking the provisions of the Essential Services Maintenance Act to curb the ongoing strike by the employees of the State road transport corporations.

There are indications that the government may take a call on whether to use such harsh provisions if the strike does not end by Tuesday.

The transport strike in Bengaluru was largely peaceful, apart from stray incidents of stone pelting at functioning buses.

While 23 BMTC buses were pelted with stones, two KSRTC buses were also damaged on the city’s outskirts. In anticipation of law and order problems, the city police had deployed 3,715 personnel to monitor the situation.

It was make hay while the sun shines for auto rickshaw drivers in the city, with many of them charging premium fares.

The Bengaluru Traffic Police, however, were ready and through the day, special checks were conducted and 1,972 cases filed. Also, 158 autos were seized for demanding excess fare.

Three helplines (080-22868444/550, and 1095) were opened for commuters, who were being harassed by autorickshaw or taxi drivers.

According to reports, the strike barely touched life in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, which are dominated by private buses. There was no holiday for schools and colleges either.

However, rural students in Belthangady, Puttur and Sullia taluks in Dakshina Kannada district faced problems as these taluks are mainly served by KSRTC buses. Private bus operators operated some buses on routes exclusively served by KSRTC on Monday, according to the Additional Deputy Commissioner Kumar.

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation operated its buses between Kasaragod (Kerala) and Mangaluru as usual.