MNS chief appeals to ST workers not to commit suicide

A delegation of  workers from the State Transprot (ST) corporation recently visited MNS president, Raj Thackeray, at his residence, Krishnakunj, in Mumbai, and presented their grievances to him.  After thoroughly listening to the same, Raj Thackeray assured his support to the workers and understood their concerns, however, he presented a condition stating that the employees should not commit suicide.

He emphasised that this was a battle and it had to be fought completely and should not be left half way in such a manner. One should gather strength and fight this together and should not lead the ones who commit suicide, and hence it needs to stop immediately. 

After understanding the matter, Raj Thackeray assured the workers that he would discuss the same with the state government and meet them again. As per reports, the talks continued for approximately 30 minutes, post which MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar interacted with the media and shared the details. He informed that the plans are being made to speak to the government immediately where Raj Thackeray himself has taken the initiative to solve this problem by paying attention to the workers.

It is being said that a total of 28 unions have declared a conduct a strike, and over one lakh employees have come together leaving the unions aside. Unorganized battles are being fought with various demands including the merger of ST Corporation and the state government. Previously shared reports inform that state government has been given 12 weeks by the court and a committee has been formed for the same. The workers from ST shared all the details with Raj Thackeray and the officials from the party informed that if the government takes a fair decision, then we should work towards implementing the 7th pay commission like the ones implemented for government officials.

Meanwhile, despite Uddhav Thackeray’s appeal, MSRTC employees’ strike continued for the 15th day on the demand for the merger of the corporation with the state government. The Bombay High Court has also sought response from the workers, and as per reports, 542 more employees were suspended. With this, the number of staffers who have been suspended so far rose to 918.

As of now, all 250 depots have been shut. MSRTC employees have been on strike since October 27, 2021.