Bus services across TN come to a halt as unions call for strike

TIL Desk/National/Chennai/ Trade unions of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) have called for the suspension of bus services from today. The staff unions have been demanding the release of funds for the arrears of the employees along with retirement benefits and Provident Fund.

However, the seven rounds of talks held with the government officials on Sunday ended in a deadlock, resulting in the halting of operations of most of the public transport buses from this morning.

During the talks yesterday, the minister informed the union leaders that the government would disburse Rs 500 crore in September, but the leaders did not agree and they demanded at least Rs 1,000 crore.

TNSTC buses in some districts like Tiruchy, Thanjavur and Udhagamandalam went on strike with immediate effect, leaving several passengers stranded by Sunday evening itself after the crews came to know that their demands were not being met. Even several employees of MTC did not operate the buses, while some operated with police protection in the city.