Bus workers go on flash strike on May Day

Private bus workers in Thrissur went on a lightning strike on May Day on Friday, protesting the delay in action against a passenger who allegedly roughed up a conductor.

Private bus workers in Thrissur went on a lightning strike on May Day on Friday, protesting the delay in action against a passenger who allegedly roughed up a conductor in Thrissur on Wednesday.

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The strike caught people in the town unawares and its suburbs, at a time when the area is in the grip of the Pooram Festival mood.

According to police, the conductor was roughed up by a passenger at Kanippoyil near Thrissur on Wednesday, following a dispute over the balance of the bus fare.

The transport workers union affiliated to BMS gave a strike call last evening, protesting the delay in booking the culprit, but other unions had refused to join the strike.

When the BMS sponsored strike began this morning, buses which operated were attacked, allegedly by strike supporters, following which workers belonging to other unions and bus owners halted services on the busy Thrissur-Kozhikode route.

Efforts to settle the issue through talks had begun, sources added.