Chennai: Tension prevailed near the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) headquarters on Pallavan Salai on Tuesday with 500 employees taking to the streets, demanding a pay hike, after talks scheduled with the government regarding their demands were abandoned.
The employees gathered near Pallavan House to give a petition to MTC managing director D. Alfred Thinakaran. The employees scaled over the compound wall of the building, some injuring themselves in the process, and damaged several rooms, including that of the MD and GM, and attacked Mr Thinakaran’s car too. A confrontation between the agitators and police ensued.
A legal case concerning the pay revision – the awarding of promotion and pension to Transport Department employees - is currently pending before the Supreme Court in Delhi. A couple of days ago, at an Assembly session, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, responding to a query from the Opposition on the issue, had said that a final call would only be taken after the Supreme Court’s decision. The Chief Minister had proposed to grant an interim relief fund of Rs1000 per month to the employees.
