Tamil Nadu bus strike enters eighth day

Chennai: Hundreds of commuters struggled to reach places in Tamil Nadu as the indefinite strike called by transport unions, demanding a pay hike among other things, entered the eighth day on Thursday.

Though the transport department has roped in temporary drivers to resume services in the state, the fleet of buses has not been running at its maximum capacity. Amidst the ongoing statewide strike, there were also reports of special buses being arranged for the MLAs.

Earlier on Sunday, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) working president MK Stalin urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palanisamy to initiate talks with transport employees and take suitable actions to end the ongoing strike in the state.

On its third day, Tamil Nadu Transport Minister MR Vijayabaskar had appealed to bus employees to return to work. The strike, following the failure of talks on wage revision and clearance of pending dues with Vijayabaskar, was declared on Thursday.

Transport workers have been demanding for a pay revision to Rs 30,000; however, the authorities have only agreed to pay them Rs 24,400 per month.