EB men end strike, bus workers vow to step up struggle

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, NOV. 12. Even as employees of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board withdrew their strike, workers of the State transport corporations decided to intensify their agitation.

The TNEB employees decided to resume work tomorrow as they did not want to inconvenience the public in view of Deepavali, according to the Central Organisation of Tamil Nadu Electricity Employees. It hoped that the Government would take the strike as a warning and reconsider its decision.

However, transport workers courted mass arrest in different parts. The joint action committee formed by trade unions decided to call a general strike in the State after meeting leaders of various political parties.

A joint statement issued by the CITU, the AITUC, the LPF, the HMS, the INTUC and the BMS, said they would soon launch a joint struggle in support of the striking transport workers if the Government did not concede their demand.

Meanwhile, employees working in various cooperative banks will go on a day's strike on Tuesday protesting the Government's decision not to pay ex-gratia for cooperative bank employees. Earlier thousands of employees staged a slogan- shouting demonstration in front of the State apex cooperative bank here.

According to the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Bank Employees Unions' Coordination Committee, the ex-gratia was paid to the employees, not covered under the payment of the Bonus Act for the last 12 years. As the ex-gratia was paid from the bank funds, the committee felt, it was unjust on the part of the Government to deny it now.

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Section  : Southern States
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