Uncertainty looms for those dependent on metro services for their evening commute as workers have decided to wait till a High Court order on Monday before deciding on their strike.
If the strike is observed by employees, metro officials said contingent plans would see services resume but at a lower frequency.
After conciliatory meetings between the Metro management and employees failed, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited Employees Union (BMREU), which claims over 900 members in its rolls, said their strike call was still on and would be implemented based on the decision on the High Court of Karnataka.
‘Demands not met’
“Not one of our 30 demands could be met by the management and employees will stop work. However, no strike will be taken until noon at least and it will depend on the High Court decision,” said Suryanarayana Murthy, vice-president of the union.
The court is hearing a petition on the application filled by BMRCL to vacate the stay on the government’s July 7, 2017 notification of extending the provisions of Karnataka Essential Services Maintenance Act to BMRCL services. The court in October 2017 stayed the government notification based on a petition filed by BMRCL Employees’ Union, and earlier this year had directed the union and management to hold concilliatory meetings to sort out the differences.
Mahendra Jain, managing director, BMRCL, said the metro had made preparations for operations to continue.
“Trains will be run, and the frequency might be lower. We will provide security for those working on Monday. But, we will ensure that metro services do not stall,” he said.
‘Illegal’
He called the strike “illegal” and added that as this was the third time the “union” had called for a strike, the authorities will be taken “strict” action.
“We may even intiate criminal proceedings against some. There is due procedure to consider the demands and this cannot be done without the strike call being withdrawn,” said Mr. Jain.
