With Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) employees set to go on strike from midnight today, Transport Minister Mukesh Agnihotri has urged the protesting workers to withdraw their strike call, saying it is illegal and will not benefit anyone.
At the same time, Agnihotri made it clear that the government was making alternative arrangements to keep the HRTC fleet operational in the event of a strike.
The HRTC has begun conducting walk-in interviews for drivers at its various offices on a temporary basis to ensure the corporation has sufficient staff to keep buses running if regular drivers and conductors proceed with the strike.
Agnihotri said the sudden strike call by the drivers’ and conductors’ unions was unjustified, as the present government had not defaulted on salaries or pensions during the past 42 months.
“The drivers and conductors could have expressed their resentment through other means such as protests or gate meetings instead of calling a strike. HRTC provides an essential service and ferries around five lakh passengers daily. Going on strike is no solution," Agnihotri said.
The employees, however, maintain that they have long been seeking payment of pending overtime dues and arrears. They say the government is trying to intimidate them by invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act, but insist they will not back down.
