Workers under preventive custody freed

By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau

CHENNAI, NOV. 24. The State Government has ordered the release of transport workers taken into preventive custody on the eve of Friday's general strike, the Home Secretary, Mr.Naresh Gupta said here today.

All workers, barring those arrested for specific offences, would be ``automatically released'' if their 15-day remand period expired, he told reporters here.

The remaining remanded workers too would be released if they expressed a desire to resume work and desist from participating in the strike.

However, the workers facing specific charges of assaulting officials and damaging buses would not be released, he added.

Meanwhile, the Government claimed that the strike had lost its steam with about 90 per cent of the workers reporting for duty on Saturday.

Normal services were maintained throughout the State.

According to metropolitan transport authorities, a majority of buses were operated in the city.

They hoped that the situation would improve from Monday when the released workers were expected to join duty.

But the unions said the services remained paralised.

Despite the Government's claim, the workers continued to abstain from work.

The general body of the federation of striking workers' unions would meet in Chennai on Sunday to decide the next course of action.

Similar meetings would be held in all districts.

The action committee of the unions, which met here today, expressed its dissatisfaction with the Transport Minister's ``contradicting'' statement on payment of ex-gratia.

Mr. A. Soundararajan, convener, said that at Wednesday's negotiation, the Minister gave an oral assurance that workers would be paid an ex-gratia of Rs 3500 in instalments.

This was known to all leaders, who participated in the talks. It was unfortunate that the Minister denied the statement now, he added.

The Marumalarchi Tozhilalar Munnani has demanded the unconditional release of all arrested workers.

It also thanked the workers who participated in Friday's general strike.

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Section  : Southern States
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