The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Thursday said disciplinary action will be taken against employees of the Mumbai monorail if they go on strike.
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On Wednesday, monorail workers threatened to strike work over non-payment of dues and a hike in salary. They had written to the MMRDA requesting a written response addressing their issues by Thursday. Meanwhile, the MMRDA started the process of issuing cheques to their employees for their December salary.
A statement from the MMRDA said, “The MMRDA is committed to safeguarding monorail workers’ interests. But we will not tolerate indiscipline and will take disciplinary action against errands.”
The statement said the employees were assured of their jobs on the same day the MMRDA took over the operations and maintenance of the monorail from the consortium of Larsen & Toubro and Scomi Engineering. “They must understand that there are rules to follow. They cannot hold the public transport or public to ransom.”
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Around 250 employees in their letter to the MMRDA said their salary for December has not been paid yet. They also said there is no clear picture on the working condition along with that of benefits and liabilities. “The MMRDA has provided us with a baseless hope of getting all monorail employees inducted into the Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Ltd. (MMOCL).”
The MMRDA is in the process of setting up the MMOCL which will deal with the operations and maintenance of all upcoming Metro lines and the monorail. The MMRDA plans to transfer the employees to a third party contractor but the staff said none of the plans were given to them in writing.