HC continues stay on Delhi Metro employees' proposed strike
New Delhi, July 6 : In a major relief to lakhs of commuters, the Delhi High Court on Friday extended its interim order restraining a section of Delhi Metro employees from going on strike over demands related to pay hike and promotions.
Hearing a Delhi Metro Rail Corp (DMRC) plea, Justice Pratibha Rani restrained the staff council members from going on strike till further order and asked them to file a response. The court listed the matter for further hearing on September 4.
On June 29, the high court restrained a section of the Metro employees from going on strike.
DMRC is in dispute with its non-executive employees over pay scales and arrears. The 9,000 employees in the category had warned of a strike from June 30 if their demands were not met.
This workforce consists of station controllers, drivers, technicians and other maintenance staff who facilitate day-to-day operations of the Metro.
These employees held a symbolic protest from June 19 onwards by holding sit-ins at platforms, wearing black armbands and boycotting lunch and rest hours. They threatened to go on total strike from June 30.
The bone of contention, the employees said, is a 2007 DMRC rule through which the corporation had come up with two pay scales for executive and non-executive staff, entitling the former to pay grades or scales given to 'Schedule A' public sector units and a lower and different grade for the latter.
As per a compromise struck between the employees and the DMRC on July 23, 2017, the corporation was to carry out some modifications in the pay grade and grant the protesting employees their arrears from July 1, 2015. However, the deal fell through.
Delhi Metro ferries about 27 lakh passengers every working day.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
BJP to retain Assam, win Bengal; NDA to emerge strong in TN, Kerala, Pondy: Pradhan
Bengaluru (PTI): Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said the BJP would retain power in Assam, while expressing confidence that there would be a change of government in West Bengal, citing people’s continued faith in PM Narendra Modi and the party.
Asserting that NDA is likely to return to power in the union territory of Puducherry, he expressed confidence that the BJP-led alliance would emerge strongly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The counting of votes for all five Assemblies—West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and Assam—will take place on May 4.
Polls were conducted in a single phase in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu, while West Bengal saw two phases of polling on April 23 and 29.
On April 9, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry went to the polls, while Tamil Nadu voted on April 23.
“Beyond exit polls, all of us who worked in the election campaign this time in the five states (four states and one union territory) are confident that the BJP will retain power in Assam and that, for the first time in a long period, West Bengal is heading for a major change,” Pradhan said.
Speaking to reporters, the union education minister said there is significant anti-incumbency against the TMC government in West Bengal due to alleged misgovernance, appeasement politics, and corruption.
“The people of West Bengal are reposing their faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the policies of the BJP and the leadership of the state BJP. I am confident there will be a change of government in West Bengal,” he added.
Pradhan said that, in all probability, the NDA (All India N R Congress–BJP alliance) will retain power in Puducherry.
“In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, I think we are all confident that our alliance will emerge strongly,” he added.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a thumping victory for the BJP in Assam and a clear edge for the party over the ruling TMC in West Bengal, while projecting a return of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu and a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years.
However, some pollsters predicted a big win for the TMC in West Bengal and a hung House in Tamil Nadu, with actor-turned-politician Vijay’s TVK emerging as a spoiler for the DMK. Almost all forecasts indicated a return to power for the AINRC-led NDA government in Puducherry.
