Workers, family members to picket depots

By S. Vydhianathan

CHENNAI, NOV. 13. In the absence of any positive response from the Government, the striking transport corporation employees have decided to intensify their strike from Thursday by involving their family members also in the agitation for higher bonus. The members would picket bus depots along with the workers.

The action committee of trade unions has decided to meet other union leaders on Thursday to finalise a state-wide general strike with their support if the Government failed to concede their demand for 20 per cent bonus.

Meanwhile, the strike entered the fourth today, with skeleton services being maintained with mini and omni buses in the city and private operators in districts.

Mr.A.Soundararajan, convenor of the committee, said the fact that the Government had inducted a number of private buses in the city showed that the strike was total. The Government, he said, wanted to create an impression that every thing was normal in the State by operating the same bus on different routes. Private bus operators were not only charging exorbitantly but also operating only on profitable routes. Suburban areas were still cut off.

On Monday alone, he said, about 4000 workers were arrested in the State, and let off in the evening as prisons were already overflowing. The absence of violence since beginning of the strike, had proved that it was peaceful.

The Director-General of Police, Mr.B.P.Nailwal, said about 11,000 transport workers had been arrested so far. Of this nearly 4,000 persons were picked up as a preventive measure and the remaining for specific offences, including blocking of buses.

Coop. stir

Employees of cooperative banks in the State also went on a day's token strike today demanding payment of ex- gratia. The strike call given by the unions including the AIBEA and the BEFI was total, according to the coordination committee of trade unions.

Paddy procurement operations in the delta districts were also affected as employees of the direct purchase centres (DPC) of the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation abstained from work for the second day today. Even now the DPC employees were choosy about purchasing paddy from farmers, stipulating various conditions. Now a majority of the DPCs had stopped procurement operation much to the agony of farmers.

However, distribution of rations was not affected as a majority of fair price shops belonging to various cooperative societies functioned normally.

The Government's handling of the strike was condemned by the Madurai Kamaraj Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Teachers' Association, All-India Democratic Women's Association and the Tamil Nadu Auto Workers Federation. The MGR Anna DMK and the State unit of the RJD also criticised the Government.

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Section  : Southern States
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