CHENNAI: Emboldened by the Madras high court order, transport minister M. R. Vijayabhaskar on Friday warned striking transport employees to return to work or face “legal action” but it failed to move the belligerent workers who vowed to continue with their agitation.
Vijayabhaskar issued a statement and later spoke to reporters after a high-level meeting with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and other senior ministers where it was decided not to give into the demands of the transport workers who, according to the government, should understand the “real situation” and get back to work.
“It is saddening that employees owing allegiance to a few unions have resorted to strike at a time when the government was considering their demands that includes salary hike. The Madras high court has also ruled that the strike is illegal and has asked the workers to return to work. Hence, the unions should call off the strike and get back to work,” Vijayabhaskar said in the statement.
However, the Federation of Trade Unions, spearheading the agitation, rejected the minister’s appeal and announced that they will continue with their strike and was ready to face any action through legal means. They accused the state government of “going back” on the promise made by a committee of three ministers in May that the money that was spent from the employees welfare fund would be returned to them in three months.
“We will face any action legally. Our demands are just and we will not go back on our demands. The strike will continue and we will face the Madras high court order legally. We will move the court,” A Soundararajan, CITU leader, said, reacting to the minister’s statement. He also said the court order was “one-sided” since it did not bother to listen to our views.
“We admit that people are facing inconvenience due to the strike, but we are protesting demanding our rights in a democratic manner. The government is responsible for the strike, not the employees. The government has spent Rs 7,000 crore from our fund and they are refusing to give it back,” he said.
Vijayabhaskar said the state government has increased the minimum wages from Rs 1,468 to Rs 2,684 and maximum wages from Rs 2,077 to Rs 11,361 according to an agreement reached on Thursday. “Due to the agreement, the state transport department will have an additional burden of Rs 1,000 crore. Though workers agreed to the wages fixed, a few transport unions misled them and have instigated them to go on the strike,” Vijayabhaskar said.
He also accused members of a few transport unions of restoring to stopping the buses mid-way even during the night hours on Thursday. “Even though employees were ready to get back to work, some people instigated them and even damaged a few buses,” he said.
