Mumbai:The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the striking Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees to resume duty by April 22 and asked the corporation to take back its decision to initiate disciplinary action against the errant workers.
Thousands of employees of MSRTC have been on strike since last November demanding that they be treated on par with state government employees and that the cash-strapped transport corporation be merged with the government.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik noted that the Maharashtra government has accepted the report submitted by a three-member committee by which the demands for the merger of MSRTC with the state government and for the corporation workers to be treated as state government employees have not been accepted. The government would, however, provide financial assistance to MSRTC for four years.
"A policy decision has been taken by the government. If MSRTC employees are aggrieved with this then they can challenge the same as per law," the bench said. The bench was hearing a petition filed by MSRTC seeking the initiation of contempt action against the striking workers for not resuming duty despite orders of the high court.