Nagpur: Intervention by Nagpur Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Dr Abhijeet Chaudhari failed to break the ice as striking workers of Aapli Bus refused the offer by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and decided to continue with their strike.
On Monday, the Commissioner held talks with representatives of two of the three unions representing the striking workers in a bid to resolve the matter. Representatives of M/s Chalo Mobility Pvt Ltd were also present at the meeting and they offered a hike of Rs 1,000. Dr Chaudhari appealed to the workers to resume work and said no salary deduction will be done for their absence during the strike period.
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Sat 21 Dec. 2024
However as the offer was very meagre, the workers refused the same, said Rakesh Ghosekar of Mathadi affiliated to Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA). Ghosekar said, during the talks, they pointed out to the Commissioner that since last 10 years there has been no hike in their take-home pay and the paltry hike is not going to do justice to their cause. The inflation is at an all-time high and it is very difficult for the workers of Aapli Bus to work with such a meagre salary.
At present the workers get about Rs 12,500 and from that, deduction in case of any police case or damage to bus, is recovered. Besides money is deducted in case of leave, so the take home pay of these workers is not more than Rs 8,000. Since many of the workers are from outstation, they have taken rooms on rent, and hence with such low salary, they are finding it difficult to meet the two ends.
Meanwhile the strike entered the fourth day and nearly 90 percent of NMC’s buses were off the road. Only the Khapri Depot was partly operational. The workers have launched agitation and it is underway at Samvidhan Square and with no headway in sight, it remains to be seen what the authorities will do.
Due to non availability of buses, students and daily commuters, especially those coming to the city from the outskirts are the worst hit. Also many college and school students too are in soup due to the flash strike by Aapli Bus workers. The striking workers, during the meeting with the Municipal Commissioner, referred to 2015 GR of the State Government and sought its implementation as the same would mean the salary payment to these workers should be around Rs22,000.
