Maha govt announces salary hike for MSRTC employees amid strike deadlock

In a bid to end the near-month-long strike of MSRTC employees, Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab on Wednesday announced a salary hike.

The average Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000 hike in basic salaries would be the "highest in the history" of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, the state-run bus service, he said, appealing employees to call off the agitation. Parab made the announcement on Wednesday evening after a prolonged meeting with a delegation of MSRTC employees here.

The salary hike will be given as per the years of service criterion and will put additional monthly burden of Rs 60 crore and annual burden Rs 750 crore on the state government, he said. BJP Members of Legislative Council Sadabhau Khot and Gopichand Padalkar, who have been leading the agitation and who took part in the talks with Parab, said they will announce their stand on the strike later in the evening.

The employees' main demand is merger of the cash-strapped corporation with the state government. The strike started on October 28 and intensified from November 9 when all depots of MSRTC shut down. Parab also had a discussion with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at HN Reliance hospital where the chief minister is recovering after a medical procedure, and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar who also holds finance portfolio, sources said.