MTC’s recent decision to allow the same driver and conductor team to work together for more days, as against the system of changing the teams every day, has not gone down well with the bus crews.
Leaving many passengers stranded for over an hour, angry drivers and conductors went on a flash strike at K.K. Nagar bus terminus on Monday morning seeking restoration of the old system complaining that the new system was causing unnecessary problems between crew members.
MTC authorities had introduced the new arrangement last week. As per the new arrangement, bus crewmembers are allowed to stick to a particular colleague continuously for even up to a month. Before this the crews would be rotated daily.
The new rule was being implemented following instances of misunderstanding between the bus crews that had resulted in disruption of smooth operation of the buses.
“This might be suitable for other corporations but it is not possible to stick with the same colleague in cities like Chennai. Expressing our dissent, we went on a strike from 9.30 am and returned to work only after officials assured to look into the matter,” said a driver.
Bus crewmembers in other depots have also expressed their unhappiness with the new scheme.