On 8 January 2024, employees of the transport corporation throughout Tamil Nadu started a big strike, asking the government to listen to what they needed. Some of the workers chose not to work, and this caused all bus services to stop.
The leader of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) in the state, along with other union leaders, had talks with S.S. Sivasankar, transport minister, Tamil Nadu, and officials at the secretariat.
Union leaders said that even after talking with the government, employees still plan to go on strike because the government didn’t agree to their requests. The leaders are unhappy with the government’s reply. They were told the demands couldn’t be accepted and that more talks would happen after the Pongal festival. The unions didn’t expect this response and found it unacceptable.
The transport unions have asked for a few things, such as filling job openings, setting aside money in the State Budget to cover financial gaps, increasing the dearness allowance for retired employees (which has been pending for 100 months), getting rid of a new pension scheme, starting discussions for the 15th wage revision quickly, and giving appointments on compassionate grounds.