The countrywide 24-hour strike called by major trade unions in the transport sector crippled life in most parts of the State on Thursday.
With employees of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) also joining the strike, there was no public transport other than trains available in many places. The transport strike also affected the functioning of government offices, markets, and commercial establishments. Most government offices functioned with skeletal staff and shops in several areas remained closed, resulting in a hartal-like situation.
Only private vehicles, that too in fewer numbers, could be seen on roads.
At all the major railway stations, people had a tough time negotiating their onward journeys. At the Central railway station here and in major destination points in the State’s railway network, police came to the aid of passengers, commandeering private vehicles and dropping off some of the passengers at destinations such as hospitals.
Workers’ worries
The strike was called by the national federations of transport workers affiliated to CITU, AITUC, INTUC, BMS, HMS, AICCTU and independent State unions to protest against the Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015, which the unions allege, will result in privatisation of the transport sector.
Workers of private buses, mini buses, public transport undertakings, taxis, autorickshaws, lorries, trucks, driving schools, automobile workshops, school and college buses and spare parts shops joined the strike.
In Pathanamthitta, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s mass contact programme took place as planned despite the strike. The trade unions had exempted Thrissur from the strike in view of the Pooram festival.
The striking workers held demonstrations at all district headquarters. In a statement here in the evening, CITU-led All India Road Transport Workers’ Federation general secretary K.K. Divakaran termed the strike ‘a grand success.
