HC stays KSRTC employees strike in Kerala

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday stayed the indefinite strike called by the unions of the state-run transport company from midnight.

A bench of Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar granted the interim stay till Tuesday. In its order, the bench directed the management of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to participate in the talks convened by the state government on Thursday.

The court orally criticised the KSRTC management for not taking steps to hold discussions with the unions to alleviate the grievances of the employees even after receiving the strike notice.

The order came after a public interest litigation (PIL) by the Centre for Consumer Education submitted that the entire operations of the KSRTC would come to a standstill, causing inconvenience to the public if the unions went ahead with their strike.

The joint action council of the employees union has called for the indefinite strike, accusing the KSRTC of failing to honour the agreement reached during a meeting with the state government on September 30.

According to the unions, the government had assured to revise the duty pattern and provide one instalment of dearness allowance arrears, along with the December month's salary.

The unions have also accused the management of not appointing the dismissed empanelled employees even after the high court had given the sanction for it.