KOCHI: The indefinite strike by KSRTC employees scheduled to start from Wednesday midnight has been postponed.

The protest committee leaders announced the decision following a discussion with Transport Minister AK Saseendran. Earlier, the HC had directed the KSRTC staff to take part in discussions to find a solution to the issue.

However, the staff union leaders had said that they would go ahead with the strike. The protest committee has clarified that the strike was against modernization attempts that were against the corporation and its staff. But as going against the court would only make matters worse, left leaders took initiative to find a solution.

The HC had issued strict directions to the protest committee to decide on the future course of action only after the discussions were concluded. Stating that the discussions must be used as a platform to solve problems of the staff, the HC had asked KSRTC to make arrangements to hold discussions on Thursday.

In the meeting, A.K. Saseendran promised to implement Transport Secretary Jyothilal’s suggestions. Instead of changing employees midway on trips longer than 10 hours, second duty will be assigned after 8 hours of duty provided proper rest is ensured between two sessions. 1 and a half duty system will be stopped. Double duty system will come into force from January 21.

Trade union leaders’ meeting with KSRTC MD Tomin Thachankary on Wednesday morning ended in failure. Tomin Thachankary and Transport Secretary K.R. Jyothilal met with protest committee leaders R. Sasidharan, C.K. Hari Krishnan and M.G. Rahul in the evening.

HC criticized both protestors and MD Tomin Thachankary. HC criticized protests before discussions. The court also said that a strike would effect the lives of common man and would also result in massive economic loss for the government.

Earlier, the HC had criticized KSRTC MD Tomin J Thachankary for delaying the discussions despite the staff issuing a notice well ahead of time. He was also asked to submit an affidavit on actions taken after receiving notice.

What the petition reads

In many routes, only KSRTC service is available. A strike would make people suffer. The government was given a request to declare bus service as a necessary service. No action was taken. If a strike notice is issued to public-necessary services, it is considered that attempts to compromise have started. So in light of that, strike should be considered as illegal.