#TNBusStrike Bus strike will continue till govt calls all unions for talks and accept our demands, says former CPM… https://t.co/Vd8ARBNqIM — TOI Cities (@TOICitiesNews) 1515135476000

#TNBusStrike Buses stationed at Koyambedu bus terminus during the transport employees' strike in Chennai on Friday.… https://t.co/6CPwPFORHj — TOIChennai (@TOIChennai) 1515134537000

#TNBusStrike Only a few government buses are being operated to mofussal areas from MGR bus stand in Madurai city.… https://t.co/DcrYRw1jEf — TOI Cities (@TOICitiesNews) 1515134349000

#TNBusStrike Protests by transport workers in front of Bypass Road Depo in Madurai. https://t.co/H8SaeFZLsF — TOIChennai (@TOIChennai) 1515137526000

I have been waiting for a few hours now, but the bus is not running. The auto fare is so high, I cannot afford it. So I have called my brother to pick me up. Deepika, one of the commuters.

#TNBusStrike People waiting for long time at Thiruvanmiyur bus stand; only few buses ply in Chennai. https://t.co/I6kWBrwx3X — TOIChennai (@TOIChennai) 1515123157000

#TNBusStrike Nagercoil bus stand wears a deserted look due to the transport workers' strike https://t.co/uOkv6YORaL — TOIChennai (@TOIChennai) 1515125430000

We are suffering because of the strike as less number of buses are plying and private buses are overcharging: Schoo… https://t.co/fCEnZqsKhb — ANI (@ANI) 1515126172000

‘We won’t call off strike until TN govt accepts our demands,’ transport workers unions say

CHENNAI: A strike by transport workers’ unions in Tamil Nadu left scores of commuters stranded at bus stops in various parts of the state on Friday morning. A large number of people were seen queued up waiting for the private buses at the different bus stops.Commuters battled to get buses in Chennai and in all other districts on Friday. Coimbatore was among the worst-hit districts, sources said.Also read: Tamil Nadu transport workers strike: Private bus operators ‘fleecing passengers’The Madras high court has asked the striking employees to go back to work or face consequences including termination and contempt of court.The impact of the strike was minimum in Salem district as about 86% of government buses are being operated, claimed Collector.There's a spurt in the sale of suburban train tickets at railway counters in Chennai. "Unprecedented crowds at stations," said a railway official. But exact numbers can be made available only tomorrow.Chennai witnessed an incident of stone pelting at Aynavaram bus depot even.The MTC has sought support from public in a press release: "People with heavy duty driving licences can approach the nearest bus depot." However, there was a squabble between TNSTC workers and those with vehicle licences who were temporarily employed at Kancheepuram. Workers opposed decision to operate buses with temporary staff.Only 16% of total 380 fleets attached to five major depots in Trichy are plying. Desperate efforts of TNSTC to hire temporary drivers and conductors failed to pick up. So far only 2-3 temporary drivers have shown up in each of the five depots expressing interest to operate TNSTC fleets for a pay of Rs 450 per shift. Such parttime drivers were asked to do a test drive before being asked to operate the fleets for respective destinations.Meanwhile, the Madras high court has refused to initiate suo motu plea against striking state transport employees on Friday.Reacting to the failure of talks with the government that led unions to go on an indefinite strike, actor Kamal Haasan tweeted about the Tamil Nadu bus strike asking Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy to speak with employees of the transport workers. He also tweeted that this might be a big gift to the transport workers.Actor Vishal also issued a statement on the strike: "Bus strike during festival rush will inconvenience passengers. TN govt must take steps to mitigate the problems (sic)."School children also faced difficulties as not all the school buses were plying. Officials in the education department said they had advised teachers to take the attendance call after 10am as students might be late.Drivers and conductors of various state transport corporations - TNSTC, SETC and MTC -- went on a sudden strike on Thursday evening as talks with transport minister MR Vijayabaskar remained inconclusive. After the talks failed, the unions announced the indefinite strike.Nearly 40% of government buses were off the roads from late evening on Thursday and more are expected to join the strike on Friday, said representatives of some of the 46 workers unions that participated in the meeting chaired by transport minister M R Vijayabaskar.On Thursday, more than 70% of buses from Thiruvanmiyur, Vadapalani, Tambaram, Avadi, Poonamallee and Iyyappanthangal depots were not operated, said MTC sources. In some areas, passengers were forced to get down from buses halfway. Taking advantage, auto drivers and share autos fleeced the passengers.Also read: MTC flash strike leaves Chennai strandedLate in the night, the government said buses would be operated by temporary staff, but sources said commuters were bound to be affected. At least 1.8 crore passengers, on an average, travel in 20,800 government buses across the state daily.More than one lakh employees of various undertakings, including Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Chennai-based Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) and State Express Transport Corporations (SETC), would stay off work, they said. Trade unions are demanding an increase in wages as per the 2.57 multiplication factor so that the basic pay of the transport employees, most of them hired on a contract basis, would be revised to ?19,500 a month on a par with permanent state government employees.Also read: Commuters affected as indefinite strike by transport workers unions begins in Tamil NaduAlso read: Bus services to be affected in TN as transport workers' unions announce indefinite strikeTransport workers unions that went on an indefinite strike on Friday said they will not call it off until the Tamil Nadu government accepts their demands.In a joint statement, workers unions said the government had held 21 rounds of talks with them in the last 16 months but had not been able to come to a decision on the wage revision issue."We are on strike not just to press our demands, but our strike is also meant for the sake of the public. We want the government to allocate the required money for the transport department so that the buses will be better and our work will also be to the extent of meeting the public's demand," said the unions including the CITU, the AITUC and the LPF.Accusing the government of using the money deducted from their wages, the unions said, "Wages of the transport unions are the lowest but our work is one of the dangerous ones. We request the public to understand the problems faced by us."