Transport corporations’ workers across Karnataka continued their strike for the sixth-day in a row with only a few employees returning to work on Monday.

The deadlock between State government and workers has led to inconvenience to public, especially due to Ugadi (new year) festival which falls today.

Workers are demanding wages to be increased and made on par with the State government employees and are gearing up to intensify agitation.

As the 1.37-lakh strong defiant workers continued to stay away from work, around 3,500 joined the duty fearing ‘no work-no pay’ threat by the State government.

The four transport corporations — KSRTC, NEKRTC, BMTC and NWKRTC — on monday disbursed March salary to workers who joined duty. The four corporations’ in all have disbursed salary to about 10,000 employees and have kept on hold for others who are still on strike.

Monday saw families of workers hitting the streets in all the taluks and districts. The day saw workers of the four-State road transport corporations (RTC) took out protest marches with their families to pressurise the government and to consider their demands.

Due to Covid-19 guidelines and rising cases in Bengaluru, protests were subdued. But in the districts of Kolar, Chitradurga, Ramanagar, Hassan, Hubballi, Tumakuru and other places the protest was strong.

The State government had on April 9 prohibited the strike under the Industrial Dispute Act and had detained the employees' union leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar at Belagavi on April 10.

The State government has enlisted private vehicles especially maxi cabs, private buses, mini-buses, and other passenger transport vehicles to handle the crisis and help commuters.

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