Chennai: The eight-day long strike by transport workers demanding pay hike was finally called off after the Madras High Court intervened. The workers have reportedly returned to work and have resumed their work starting this Friday.
17 trade unions and workers associated with DMK and left parties went on strike after the Tamil Nadu Government rejected their pay hike proposal.
As per the reports received, the transport workers are demanding a 2.57 times raise in their wages as compared to the salaries of the drivers.
There are nearly 1.4 lakh workers in the TN’s transport department who handle around 22,500 buses.
An official noting the loss the state incurred due to the workers strike said, “We incur a loss of Rs. 9 crore every day as we’ve not hiked tariff for years. We offer the cheapest travel compared to neighbouring states. The hike we’ve offered alone will cost an additional Rs. 1,000 crore a year.
CITU leader A Soundarrajan had on Thursday night announced that the indefinite strike was being “temporarily” called off, shortly after the Madras High Court appointed an arbitrator to settle their wage dispute with the government.
“The strike is being temporarily withdrawn keeping in mind the welfare of the people of the state,” he had said, adding that workers would resume work from Friday morning.
The AIADMK-backed union, besides some others, had not participated in the protests, reported NDTV.