Seeking speedy disbursal of arrears and monetary benefits to the retiring employees, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation employees resorted to sit-in-stir in front of the TNSTC head office here for the second consecutive day on Friday.
As a part of the State-wide agitation, the staff numbering over 1000 blocked the busy thoroughfare for over 45 minutes to show their protest.
The strike affected at least 40 % of normal movement of the operations, the union office-bearers from various outfits claimed. As a result, share-autos fleeced the commuters. Many bus bays exclusively earmarked for the TNSTC buses in the bus stops wore a deserted look during the peak hours, many commuters said.
The striking employees said that they would intensify the stir from Saturday by not allowing the buses to be parked in bus stands. Only when the unions, irrespective of those affiliated to the ruling party, joined in the stir, it would be total and force the government to fulfil the demands, the agitators said.
However, a senior TNSTC official said that only for a brief period in the morning the services were lean, but from forenoon, the services picked up and buses plied as usual. When asked to share the number of buses which left the depots and the collection for the day, the official refused to divulge the details.
