Bengaluru: The state government has included the Metro services under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has warned of stringent actions against those who cause problems for such services.
The Namma Metro staff are all set for a strike on March 22 with various demands including hike in pay and PF etc, prompting the corporation to pass the warning to the staff. BMRCL Managing Director Mahendra Jain said that the metro staff are public servants and they should not inconvenience the public. Strict action will be taken against those who cause inconvenience to people, he said.
If the Metro staff do carry out the strike, alternative actions will be taken to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. Suitable actions will be taken to provide rail service and security to the passengers, he added.
After hearing a petition of the Metro workers to bring a stay order to cancel the state government’s notification to implement ESMA, the court had declared an interim stay order on the notification. However, the corporation has ignored the court order and is trying to remind the ESMA once again, said one of the Metro staff said.
Speaking to the media, BMRCL Employees’ Association Vice President Sooryanarayana Murthy said that the statement of the corporation on ESMA is condemnable. The High Court has given a stay order to the ESMA previously. The corporation is all set to train to those who don’t have proper training. If anything happens to the passengers, the BMRCL will be responsible.
