Karnataka HC cracks whip, trade unions suspend strike till Aug 7

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the transport strike despite its interim order and warned of contempt proceedings, following which the KSRTC Staff and Workers' Federation announced suspension of the agitation till August 7, when the matter will be heard next.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Joshi expressed strong displeasure over the strike being carried out despite the invocation of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and the court's direction not to proceed with the agitation.

The bench warned that the continuation of the strike would not be tolerated and would initiate contempt proceedings against the union leaders.

The court extended its earlier interim order restraining the strike by two more days and directed the unions to submit an affidavit on Wednesday confirming that the strike has been called off.

KSRTC Staff and Workers' Federation president H V Anantha Subbarao told reporters in Bengaluru that the agitation had been suspended till August 7 and employees had been instructed to return to work with immediate effect.

During the hearing, the Advocate General informed the court that the strike had caused significant hardship to the public.

In response to a query from the bench regarding efforts at conciliation, details of past rounds of talks with the government were submitted.

The court observed that if there are issues then they should be resolved through talks with the government.

It also noted that resorting to a strike even after ESMA had been enforced was unlawful. The court also issued notices to the unions of all four state transport corporations.

The counsel for the Joint Action Committee assured the court that the strike would not continue on Wednesday. The court made it clear that if the strike is resumed, the government is free to take appropriate legal action under ESMA.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)