MSRTC staffers protest sacking of 48 colleagues

MSRTC staff protest at Parel bus depot

Nearly 100 employees of the MSRTC gathered at Parel bus depot on Friday to protest against the dismissal of their colleagues for allegedly skipping work.

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) dismissed 48 employees for allegedly not joining work since the COVID lockdown was imposed on March 23 despite several reminders to do so.

MSRTC officials the transport corporation sent several texts and WhatsApp messages to the 48 employees and even called them all, but they did not respond. Hence, the MSRTC announced a list of these employees for insubordination and undue absence from work, officials said.

However, the sacked employees claim that they were given a 48-hour notice, but when they reported to work, they were made to outside the officers' cabins for three days. Others claim they did not even get a notice before being sacked.

The police took over the situation and asked the protesting employees to leave the premises and maintain physical distance. Protesting staff also claimed that they have not been getting salaries on time. "Salary of about four months is due. They do not bother about that but are very meticulous when it comes to employee discipline," one of the angry drivers said.

The MSRTC had been losing Rs 23 crore a day as the buses were not plying during the lockdown. Since the revenue was not coming, disbursal of salaries has become an issue, said officials. MSRTC has just begun its full-fledged services, now slowly returning to normalcy.

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