Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. sought the intervention of the Labour Departments of both the Central and State governments a day after the BMRCL Employees’ Union decided to call for an indefinite strike from March 22.
A senior BMRCL official said the regional labour commissioner of the Central government and the Labour Commissioner of the State government had been asked to intervene as the per the provisions of Industrial Disputes Act. “Once the department intervenes, they will hold discussions with the stakeholders concerned, including employees,” the senior official said.
The BMRCL has also appealed to its employees not to resort to a strike. The management has said it was willing to discuss any reasonable request or grievance. “We are ready to talk to BMRCL employees, but not to outsiders [union office-bearers who are not employees]. The organisation, BMRCL Employees’ Union, has not been recognised and they are misleading our employees. We have also formed a special committee to hold talks with our employees and attend to their grievance,” the BMRCL official added.
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In an appeal letter to its employees, dated March 9, the BMRCL also talks about initiating stringent action if the employees fail to fall in line. “It is hereby pointed out that as per the Sections 65,66, 67 and 68 etc., of the Metro (Operations and Maintenance) Act 2002, any action such as abandoning a train etc., without authority, obstructing metro officials in their duties, strict penal provisions have been prescribed, including imprisonment,” states the letter.
The BMRCL has asked the Home Department to initiate security measures in view of the strike call.