Mumbai, September 3: The Mahayuti government helmed by chief minister Eknath Shinde is being buffeted by yet another crisis with employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) going on an indefinite strike on the eve of the Ganesh festival when lakhs of people go to their villages to perform poojas. In fact, the state transport buses constitute the lifeline of rural Maharashtra.
The controversy over the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has hardly died down when the strike has upset the plans of a large number of Ganesh devotees. Instead of proactively engaging the union leaders, the government left them with no option but give a call for strike. CM Shinde has now called for a meeting with the strike leaders on Wednesday evening.
The employees’ demands include increase in dearness allowance and salaries on par with that drawn by state government staffers. Shinde told mediapersons, “A positive solution will come out in tomorrow’s meeting. In the past, we have resolved various issues through negotiations.”
Quick to cash in on the crisis, Opposition leader in the state assembly, Vijay Wadettivar of the Congress said ” The State government should not overwhelm countryside people and resolve the issue as soon as possible. I went through the workers’ demands and I think 2 or 3 of them can be easily resolved. The government should give immediate relief to the workers.”
MSRTC Strike Affects Over 50% of Bus Depots Across Maharashtra, Significant Revenue Loss Reported
Interestingly, BJP MLC Gopichand Padalkar and Sadabhau Khot, MLA of the Rayat Kranti Sanghatana, an ally of the BJP, have supported the strike. They said, “For the last two months, we have been holding discussions with the government on how the workers’ salaries can be brought on par with state government employees. Deputy CM Devendra Fadanvis had directed the managing director of MSRTC to accept their demands. But why is he not following the orders?” Padalkar appealed to the workers to transport Ganesh devotees to their villages and then resume their strike.
State minister Uday Samant requested the union leaders to wait for 48 hours, but in vain. Advocate Gunaratan Sadavarte, who had fought cases in support of ST workers during the MVA regime, alleged that supporters of Uddhav Thackeray and Shard Pawar are behind the strike.
In October 2021, thousands of MSRTC workers went on an indefinite strike demanding that they be treated on par with state government employees and that the cash-strapped transport corporation be merged with the government. The strike continued for several months, causing inconvenience to people. Many ST workers agitated on the roads and some of them protested at Azad maidan. Finally, the Bombay High Court stepped in and directed the protesting workers to resume duties by April 15, 2022.
On Tuesday, MSRTC bus services faced massive disruptions because of the strike call given by 11 unions. The strike, which began at midnight, led to a complete shutdown of operations at 59 out of MSRTC’s 251 bus depots, severely impacting public transport in the state.
According to an MSRTC spokesperson, “On Tuesday, 59 depots were completely shut down, while 77 depots reported partial operations. Normal services continued at 115 depots.” The strike resulted in the cancellation of 11,943 out of 22,389 scheduled trips, which accounts for nearly 50% of the transport services being halted. The estimated revenue loss for the day was around Rs 14-15 crore. Meantime on Tuesday, the Industrial Court has declared the strike illegal and ordered the unions and employees participating in it to immediately return to work.
Despite this ruling, many workers remained off duty causing inconvenience to lakhs of passengers.
In response to the strike, the MSRTC administration has begun the process of hiring drivers and other necessary staff on a contractual basis to maintain service continuity. “Starting tomorrow, we are going to appoint drivers and other staff on a long-term contractual basis to prevent further disruptions,” said the MSRTC spokesperson.
Additionally, local administrators have been instructed to file FIRs against striking employees who obstruct other staff from reporting to work. “Orders have been also given to document evidence against striking employees by recording videos and taking photos,” the spokesperson added.
While the Mumbai region’s bus operations remained unaffected, several other regions experienced significant disruptions. In Thane region, depots such as Kalyan and Vitthalwadi were completely closed on Tuesday. Similarly, most depots in Pune, including Shivajinagar, Vallabhnagar, and Baramati, faced a complete shutdown. In Nashik district, depots in Nashik, Pimpalgaon, and Peth were closed, while Bhusawal and Chalisgaon depots in Jalgaon district also remained shut.
