Ahmedabad, February 21: Bus services across Gujarat were affected on Thursday after employees of  Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) went on an indefinite strike demanding immediate implementation of the 7th Pay Commission or 7th CPC and removal of GPS systems from buses. Commuters were left stranded as several buses were seen stationed idle in the bus depots.

The indefinite strike, called by the umbrella organisation State Transport Sanchalan Samithi, has backing of three major unions of bus drivers - Gujarat ST Karmachari union, Gujarat ST Workers federation and Gujarat ST Mazdoor Sangh. The protestors threatened to continue with their strike unless the state government agrees to all their demands. 7th Pay Commission: Dearness Allowance Hiked, Cabinet Approves 3 Per Cent Increase in DA.

Besides implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, GSRTC employees want the state government to shut private bus services and stop selling GSRTC land to develop bus depots under PPP model, Kaushal Desai, South Gujarat In-charge of State Transport Sanchalan Samithi, said.

On being asked about the stranded passengers, ST Karmachari Union general secretary PA Sutaria said, it is for the state government to look into the passengers' problems. He claimed that around 4000 trips were cancelled today itself because of the strike. Another member of the association said that they have served the state with all their might and now it was the turn of the state government to fulfil their demands.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 21, 2019 05:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).