A late night meeting between the five striking unions and the management of BMTC/KSRTC to resolve the issues ended on an inconclusive note with both sides falling short of coming to an agreement.
The unions are demanding greater inclusion of the employees in management decisions, including about wage issues despite the employees getting a heftyRs4,000-Rs7,000 hike in salaries just last month. One of the main demands was a 35% hike in salaries and regularising 32,000 employees who were hired on temporary basis , besides removing the clause of probation period for employees.
The meeting — conspicuous by the absence of transport minister R Ashoka — remained inconclusive when this paper went to the press. The transport department and BMTC/KSRTC management officials had agreed to the demands orally, but the unions demanded a written assurance, which the former were not ready for.
Ashoka had earlier in the day said the government was all set to use the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) as the last option to rein in employees of BMTC and KSRTC. Normal life is likely to be thrown out of gear on Friday, too, as the indefinite strike is likely to continue.
The late night meeting was attended by the five union leaders, including general secretary of KSRTC Staff and Workers Federation, HV Ananth Subbarao, president of All Karnataka State Road Transport Employees Federation, KS Sharma and principal secretary of transport department, P Ravikumar.
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