After the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Union, Western Railway Motormen and the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), it’s now the turn of taxi drivers to go on strike. The Mumbai Taximen’s Union is planing to go on strike next week.
Union leader A L Quadros said they had not decided on the date, but it would be sometime next week. Quadros agreed people would face problems, but said, “What do we do? The government has been overlooking our demands for quite some time now.”
“Apart from issues related to high premium for third-party insurance, there are also problems related to renewal of licences. Around 6,000 licences are lying at the regional transport office because these could not reach the taxi drivers’ homes via speed post, especially those who live in slums. We want our concerns to be addressed appropriately.”
The AIMTC called for an indefinite strike from Thursday midnight in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Puducherry to protest against the diesel price rise and high toll charges. Sunil Kale, general secretary of the Bombay Goods Transport Association, said, “We have allowed free movement of essential commodities. Milk, food and grain supply have not been affected.”
Vegetable vendors are, however, apprehensive of the whole situation. “Though there has been no major problem till now, we will face a problem if the strike continues for another three-four days,” said a wholesale vegetable dealer at the APMC (Agriculture Produce Market Committee) market in Navi Mumbai.
Kale said they were in touch with their president in New Delhi and waiting for the government to intervene. The Navi Mumbai Transport Association, Maharashtra Tank Lorry Owners’ Association, Federation of Bombay Motor Transport Operators and the Bombay Transport Co-operative Consumer Society Ltd have also joined the strike.
The BEST Union’s strike against non-implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations on Thursday, saw 3,000 buses going off the roads. Several people, including 10 BEST employees, were injured when some protesters pelted stones on buses. Motormen of the Western Railway held a flash strike on the same day to protest against the removal of a colleague.
This not only led to cancellation of over 20 trains and delay in several others, but also left several passengers stranded at important terminals like Churchgate, Dadar and Andheri.
