Sixteen thousand workers of Haryana Roadways had been on a strike since October 16, protesting against the state government’s attempts at ‘backdoor privatisation’ of the roadways by introducing the kilometre scheme. The state government had unilaterally taken the decision to hire 720 private buses on kilometre basis. The workers’ unions were not taken into confidence while making this decision. The unions claimed that this decision was against the interest of the employees, as well as the public.
On Tuesday, October 30, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had issued a notice to the Haryana Transport Department, in a response to a petition filed by a local lawyer, Arvind Seth. The petition pointed out the inconvenience caused to the people of Haryana because of the ongoing strike. The notice was issued by a division bench comprising of Chief Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Arun Palli, and a hearing was scheduled for November 2. Senior Advocate Anupam Gupta was appointed asamicus curiae to assist the court regarding the issue.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Murari said that the strike will not help solve the issue; a solution can be arrived at only through discussion. Listening to him, the workers have decided to put the strike on hold until the next hearing, which has been scheduled for November 14. “We are hoping that like we are respecting the court by listening to its directions, the government of Haryana will also reconsider its policies,” said a worker while talking to Newsclick.
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The bus services have been resumed from today, as per the orders of the court, but the workers are eagerly waiting for the meeting that has been called by the state transportation department in Chandigarh on November 12, to discuss the issues with the workers’ unions.
Chief Justice Krishna Murari has also said that no employees will be suspended or arrested until the next hearing. The workers will decide the future course of the protest after the hearing on November 14. Even though the strike has been lifted for now, the protests will not stop until the state government has rolled back its unfair policies.
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