Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVMC) transport workers, including drivers, conductors, technicians and other staff, on Tuesday launched a sudden work stoppage over various pending demands. The sudden stoppage of work has impacted several passengers in the city, as not even a single bus has been spotted on the Vasai-Virar roads since morning. According to reports, the VVMC buses have been parked at Virar and Sativali depots, forcing thousands of passengers to rely on other alternative transport facilities in the region.
Workers raise pending demands
Meanwhile, the main demands of the transport workers include implementation of wages on par with municipal transport services in other cities, payment of overtime as per the law, proper working hours with necessary breaks and abolition of the ongoing contract system. Apart from this, the workers have also objected to issues related to bonuses, gratuity, return of deposits, and alleged arbitrary financial penalties and action against employees. According to reports from Loksatta, currently, VVMC possesses nearly 114 buses, and this service is being provided on 36 routes; additionally, it also has 40 e-buses. Among these buses, around 60,000–65,000 people travel daily; however, since morning, many have been struggling to find an alternative due to their heavy dependence on buses.
Transport services disrupted
Subsequently, despite repeated complaints from the workers, no action was taken in this regard; as a result, the workers, in rage, finally called a sudden strike on Tuesday. Due to this, the municipality’s transport service has been disrupted since 6 am. Further details in the matter are awaited; however, so far, no official response has been given to the strike.
