Guj state transport employees on strike; bus service crippled

Ahmedabad: Thousands of employees of Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) on Thursday proceeded on mass casual leave for a day to press their demands including a wage hike as per the 7th Pay Commission.

It left commuters across the state stranded as GSRTC buses stopped plying. Over 7,000 GSRTC buses are off the roads since midnight, parked in various depots of the corporation across the state. "We have been demanding implementation of the 7th Pay Commission for the last three years but the government is not heeding our demand," said Navalsinh Rana, a GSRTC union leader. "If our demands are not met by tonight, we will launch an indefinite strike," Rana said.

CM Vijay Rupani appealed the employees to call off the strike. "This is very unfortunate...Their main demand is implementation of the 7th Pay Commission..." Rupani said.