Starbus operator Vansh Nimay Infratech Ltd has sacked 25 drivers who refused to work 12 hours a day instead of the regular eight-hour
shifts. The sacked drivers wanted to meet municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta on Saturday, but their visit to NMC went in vain on Saturday as Gupta was not present.
Corporator Vedprakash Arya said that the drivers had been recently trained by the operator. During the training they were told that they would have to work eight hours a day. However, fifteen days after joining work they were asked to work for four more hours. When these drivers refused, they were told on December 29 that their services were no longer required. The drivers met top officials of Vansh Nimay but they were told that they would not be taken back.
Arya said that the drivers were first issued identity cards of Vansh Nimay but later these I-cards were taken away and new I-cards were issued in the name of Brisk Ltd. He alleged that Starbus staffers have been issued I-cards in the names of five different companies.
The NCP corporator said that he would meet the municipal commissioner on Monday along with the retrenched drivers to seek justice. "Besides, there is a larger issue of public safety. There is a danger that overworked drivers may end up causing accidents," he said.
However, Vansh Nimay general manager Mahesh Kandhalkar said that the company had not violated any provisions of Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Act. "We have not asked the drivers to do more than 8 hours steering duty. They have to do other work two hours before and after steering duty, which is perfectly legal as per the MV Act."
Kandhalkar said that initially the drivers were asked to work for only eight hours. However, as many of them drive autorickshaws, it was found that they did not complete their duty hours and left early to drive autorickshaws. "As soon as their duty hours were over, they parked the buses here and there and we had to find them to get the buses into their proper places. Such things could not be tolerated for long," he said.