MSRTC employees end strike before Ganesh festival; govt agrees to pay hike

The two-day-old strike by Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees was called off on late Wednesday evening following government's assurance of a salary hike, union leaders said, providing a relief to passengers planning travel during the ensuing Ganesh festival.

An action committee of trade unions representing employees of the state-run corporation announced an end to the strike after a meeting with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who agreed to give a Rs 6,500 per month hike in basic salary to MSRTC staffers, fulfilling their main demand.

The hike will come into effect retrospectively from April 2020, said a release from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). "We are calling off our agitation as the chief minister has assured a salary hike to MSRTC employees," Sandeep Shinde, a leader of the Maharashtra ST Kamgar Sanghtana, told PTI, after the meeting with Shinde.

Shirang Barge, another union leader, said at the meeting, which took place at Sahyadri Guest House in south Mumbai, the chief minister, who is also MSRTC chairman, agreed to a Rs 6,500 salary hike for employees. Speaking to the media after the meeting, state Industries Minister Uday Samant said employee unions were demanding a Rs 7,000 hike in basic salary.

Besides, the government has acceded to trade unions' other demands like providing clean toilets for women employees and concretisation of bus depots, Samant informed. A large number of employees of MSRTC, which has a nearly 90,000-strong workforce, went on a strike post-Monday midnight in support of their various demands, including a salary hike and parity with state government staffers.

The end of the strike has come as a big relief for people planning to travel to their native places from cities during the 10-day Ganesh festival beginning on September 7.