Roadways workers defer indefinite strike for a month after Transport minister’s order
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
In a major relief to passengers, employees of Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) including Roadways bus drivers, conductors and other operational staff, have postponed their ongoing indefinite strike and boycott of work after assurances and fulfilment of some demands by the Transport minister Pradeep Batra. The protest has been postponed for one month. If no action is taken on the assurances, the protest will be resumed after a month.
Informing about this, general secretary of Uttarakhand Roadways Karmachari Union, Ashok Chaudhary said that on October 31 the Transport minister chaired a meeting with UTC officials, Transport department and office bearers of unions, in which several demands were accepted and on many demands assurance was given. He said that they had started an indefinite strike on their demands, which include payment of pending salaries and equal pay for equal work for contractual employees, among others.
In the meeting on Saturday, some decisions were taken on their demands, which include that pending salaries, August 2026 salary, will be paid before November 4 and September salary will be paid in November.
Additionally, in the meeting, it was also directed that UTC will send a recommendation to the government for equal pay for equal work for contractual employees. Chaudhary said it was also directed in the meeting that enforcement action should be taken on illegal private buses operating in the State.
He also informed that the minister directed increasing the contractual employees per kilometre rate. He said that many other decisions were taken in the meeting according to their demands.
Chaudhary said in the meeting that on many demands immediate action was taken and on some assurances have been given. He said that, based on this, they, instead of ending the protest, postponed it for one month. If action on the demands for which assurances were given is not taken in one month, they will commence a protest across the State along with a boycott of work, he said.
