Karnataka: Bus strike from today, public transport likely to be affected

Thousands of Karnataka transport corporation workers will go on an indefinite strike on Wednesday, nearly four months after disrupting the public transportation network for three days to demand pay raises. The government said on Tuesday that it would deal with the strike strictly and that it would not follow the 6th Pay Commission’s recommendations, effectively closing the door on talks. Employees of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Karnataka State Road Transportation, and its northwest and northeast arms are taking part in the strike, which is expected to have an effect on city commuting as well as travel across the state.

We have announced the implications of the government’s agreement to eight of their nine demands. The Pay Commission recommendations, their ninth demand, will not be met. We are pleading with the employees to end the strike. Following a meeting of officials convened by chief minister BS Yediyurappa, chief secretary P Ravi Kumar said.

The employee’s main demand is that the wage is brought up to par with that of government employees after the Pay Commission’s recommendations are implemented. As a temporary measure, the government said it would raise worker’s wages by 8%. The Disaster Management Act is already in place, preventing congregation, and the government may use the Critical Services Maintenance Act and IPC sections to thwart the strike if necessary. Miscreants that cause damage to public property such as buses will be prosecuted, he said.

“In the absence of RTC buses, we are taking all possible alternative steps to ensure smooth public transportation. Private bus and taxicab operators will be given routes and will be able to operate their vehicles for a set fee. We’ve asked the railways for special trains to places like Kalaburagi, Belagavi, and Mysuru during the holidays,” Ravi Kumar said.

According to him, the government revises the wages of transportation workers every four years, while the Pay Commission takes five to ten years. He said that the government had spent Rs 2,100 crore on salaries during the lockdown and had given an order to pay salaries until June, despite the massive losses suffered by the transport companies.