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‘Bengaluru Chalo’ protest: Transport employees to hit the streets tomorrow seeking salary hike, arrears
Karnataka transport corporations have threatened employees that ESMA provisions will be invoked if employees skip work to participate in the protest.
The protest is being held as several meetings held over the issue failed to deliver the outcomes sought by the committee. (Express photo)
The Joint Action Committee of the Trade Unions of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation will stage a ‘Bengaluru Chalo’ protest at Freedom Park on Thursday, urging the state government to fulfil their demands.
Though the protest was scheduled to be held in the last week of January this year, it was postponed due to the demise of trade union leader Ananth Subba Rao, who had headed the committee for a long time.
To prevent any disruption in transport services, state-run transport corporations have threatened employees that provisions of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) will be invoked if employees skip work to participate in the protest.
The committee has said that the protest scheduled on Thursday was to press for the implementation of a 25 per cent salary hike assured to employees from January 1, 2024. Similarly, the committee is also demanding payment of salary arrears from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2023. The total arrears due are Rs 1,785 crore.
The protest is being held as several meetings held over the issue failed to deliver the outcomes sought by the committee. In November last year, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting and offered a pay hike from April 1 this year, apart from clearing Rs 718 crore of the pending arrears.
Subsequently, the committee representatives had also held a meeting with Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy over the issue. With the government yet to commit to fulfilling their demands, they decided to go ahead with the protest.
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