Thiruvananthapuram: A day-long strike, announced by a section of employees of Kerala Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) demanding timely disbursal of salary, hit commuters as a large number of buses were off the roads across the state. Despite the dies-non imposed by the state government, employees attached to the opposition trade unions including Kerala Transport Employees Sangh (KSTES) and Transport Democratic Federation (TDF) and so on, were taking part in the 24-hour strike since midnight last.
If dies-non is imposed, the striking employees will not get their salary for the day. As the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), a Left trade outfit, was not taking part in the agitation, the management tried to operate the maximum possible number of buses to avoid the inconvenience caused to the public. The cancellation of long-distance services caused great difficulty for commuters. Those who depend on public transport alone were the most affected. The employees went ahead with the strike as talks with the government failed over their demand for disbursal of salary before the fifth of every month. Transport Minister Antony Raju warned that the strike would aggravate the financial crisis of the cash-strapped KSRTC.
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