Karnataka govt warns KSRTC employees of strict action if they launch agitation

coastaldigest.com news network

April 6, 2021

Bengaluru, Apr 6: Karnataka Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar on Wednesday warned KSRTC employees from going ahead with their indefinite agitation from April 7, saying that strict action will be taken against those who participated.

"The government will not negotiate any more. Employees should not go on strike," he underlined.

After a meeting with Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, he said that while the government has fulfilled eight of the nine demands of the labour unions, it cannot fulfill their demand of wages as per the 6th Pay Commission recommendations, on par with other government employees.

The Chief Minister has said that the government will deal with the strike strictly. "There is no question of hiking the salary more than what is already offered," he said, noting that the Transport department had offered to hike their salaries by 8 per cent as an interim relief.

Protesting employees will be dealt with as per the provisions of law. Sections under Disaster Management Act, which prohibit any gatherings during a pandemic and provisions of IPC will be invoked, Kumar said, adding that the government was also thinking of invoking the stringent essential Services Maintenance Act. “There will be a ‘no work, no pay’ policy," he added.

He said that Private buses and maxi-cabs will be allowed to ply and carry passengers. Other alternate arrangements will also be made to help travellers. Since it is the vacation season, we are also requesting the railways to run special trains towards Hubballi, Gulbarga and Mysuru.

Kumar said that he had already written to the Election Commission to allow the government to implement an 8 per cent revision of wages for transport employees, citing the strike call by them.

"We will implement the announced hike if EC allows it," he said, failing which it would be implemented once the Model Code of Conduct for the by-polls in the state is withdrawn.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Los Angeles fire death toll climbs to 24, hundreds still 'missing' as firefighters race against winds

News Network

January 13,2025

Los Angeles wildfires have continued their trail of devastation, razing death tolls to 24 and destroying thousands of structures, while intensifying winds are worsening the situation for both civilians and firefighters.

In an update on Sunday evening, the County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner said a total of 24 people have died due to the wildfires.

According to the examiner, this number is only an estimate as hundreds of people in various parts of the county are still missing.

Weather forecasters in California are also warning fierce winds which fuelled the infernos around Los Angeles are expected to pick up again this week.

The notoriously dry Santa Ana winds would pick up again from Sunday night until Wednesday, reaching speeds of up to 96km/h, they said.

The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, said weather service meteorologist Rich Thompson. “You are going to have really strong gusty Santa Ana winds, a very dry atmosphere and still very dry brush, so we still have some very critical fire weather conditions out there,” he added.

On Saturday, the flames spread east, creeping closer to Interstate 405 and a busy mountain pass. This is a “significant development,” said L.A. County spokesman Jesus Ruiz.

With the fire rapidly growing and moving in the direction of “a heavily populated area … we are definitely concerned,” he continued.

Gavin Newsom, governor of California said that he believes that in terms of costs associated with the wildfire, it will be the worst natural disaster in terms scale and scope in the history of the US, and the fatalities is likely to increase significantly as well.

On Sunday, private forecaster Accuweather increased its preliminary estimate of financial losses from the blazes to between $250 billion to $275 billion. The wildfires are on track to be among the costliest in US history.

Comments