Delhi Transport Corporation’s (DTC) contractual employees went on indefinite strike on Wednesday evening to protest against termination letters issued to eight employees who took out a protest march from IP Depot to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence at c on 5 February in semi-clad state.
Manoj Sharma, who was terminated, claimed that the strike would continue till the government revoked termination orders.
“Also, on 5 February the state government assured us that within seven days they will call a joint meeting of Chief Minister, DTC chairman and labour commissioner along with the representatives of DTC Contractual Employees Union to find the solution to their demands,” said Sharma.
He added that though nothing happened in that direction, eight employees received letters stating their services had been terminated. He claimed that nearly 500 employees had gone on strike and more would join on Thursday.
The issue exploded after contractual drivers and conductors sought permanent jobs and hike in wages.
Explaining the “ordeal” of contractual staff, Sharma said: “There are a number of days in a month when even after waiting for seven to eight hours, no buses were made available for contractual staff to operate and hence they remained unpaid. Contractual drivers and conductors were being exploited.”
On 5 February almost 13,000 contractual employees of DTC went on strike, causing inconvenience to daily commuters in the national capital.