No breakthrough in talks, govt vows to recruit staff

Chennai: There seems to be no end in sight for the transport strike with the government asserting that it would take all possible steps including recruiting new staff including drivers, besides using private buses, while trade unions remaining firm in their demand for allocation of Rs 2,000 crore for retirement benefits.

Contrary to expectations, there were no negotiations on Monday as both parties did not turn up for it. Transport minister M.R. Vijayabaskar, who met Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palanisami and discussed the issue later indicated that the government would go all out to break the strike through various measures.

The transport department began recruitment of new drivers throughout the state and they would be asked to operate the government buses on a daily wage basis. Besides, the government also called the drivers of school and college vans to utilise their services to operate the buses.

The trade unions condemned the government's efforts to recruit new staff to run the buses and said it was against the International Labour Organisation norms.

Besides, it is dangerous to operate the buses with inexperienced drivers, the union leaders said. In a joint statement, the leading trade unions taking part in the strike LPF, CITU and AITUC said the views of district collectors that buses would be operated by other persons are an illegal act. They asked the Chief Minister to hold talks and expressed their willingness to hold negotiations.

The minister told the media that the government would take all steps to see that the people are not affected due to the strike. He also claimed that 75 per cent of the buses were operated on Monday.

However, about 90 per cent of the government buses did not operate and people had to rely on few private buses and electric trains for commutation. There was heavy rush in the suburban trains, since the addition of just three services was not enough to compensate for the stopping of buses.

Train passengers from various parts of the state who got down at Tambaram were stranded since there were no buses towards Guduvanchery or Chengalpattu. The few private buses operated from Tambaram stopped their services from 8 pm and people had to rely on autos and share autos paying double or triple than normal.

The northern districts of the state, depending heavily on government buses were severely hit, while private buses in the delta districts helped the passengers to carry out their works. Some of the train passengers from the delta districts who were waiting for a long time at Tambaram wondered why private companies are not allowed to operate in Chennai and its suburbs.

Jesurajan, a trader from Tiruchy, said people in Chennai had no alternative options when there is a strike and government should consider operating private buses in city routes. However, there were also complaints from passengers that the a few private buses operating in the city collected more money from the public.

EMUs, MRTS crowded

With buses off the roads and private vehicles fleecing them, commuters opted to cheapest mode of transportation, suburban and MRTS train services, on Monday though they were overcrowded.

To cash in on the strike, the Southern Railways increased the frequency of suburban and MRTS trains during the peak hours. But even the increased frequency did not reduce the rush on trains.

“It became very difficult to find place in trains because of the bus strike. But as trains are a cheaper alternative for everyday commuters like me, I chose to travel by train,” said Shrikant S, a daily commuter traveling from Guindy.

People, who could not find places in second-class compartments, traveled in first class compartments to find enough place to stand. Even ladies compartment were so overcrowded that ladies had to footboard, just be able to stand properly.

“There were no special trains early morning, which is the office hour for us, we could only find enough place to stand,” says Raji V., a daily commuter.

Tambaram, few counters were closed owing to staff crunch. “Of the five counters in Tambaram West, only three were operational. In East Tambaram side, only one counter out of the three counters was functional. It was a chaotic situation in the peak hours,” said J. Kumar, a regular commuter.