Mumbai: The State Transport Minister Diwakar Raote on Thursday slammed the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees for going on a strike over their demand for salary hike and said that the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission for these employees is not possible for the next 25 years.
"MSRTC will not be in a position to implement the 7th Pay Commission for another 25 years. In his meeting with the union members, the CM has clearly said that it is not possible even for the government employees so how can we do it for them," Raote said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has offered to resolve the matter through talks and also asked the union to formulate a committee to resolve their issues. "The CM will personally see what can be done for them once the committee comes to a conclusion," he said.
"We are not in a position to accept their demands because a lot of money is being spent on farmers. They should not hold people to ransom during Diwali time just to get their demands fulfilled," he added.
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Employees of the MSRTC began an indefinite strike from midnight of Monday. Their main demand is implementation of 7th pay commission.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde questioned if Raote wants to resolve the issue or make matters worse by his comments.
Lashing out at Raote, the NCP leader said, "At a time when lakhs of commuters are held to ransom, Raote makes comments which raise the question whether he wants an amicable solution or wants to add oil to the fire?"
“The MSRTC employees have been pressing for this demand for years, but the government never paid attention to them and today they had no other option but to go on a strike. Had they been heard on time, people would not have had to suffer today,” Munde added.
More than 65 lakh passengers travel by ST buses across the State everyday.