Karnataka HC directs Bengaluru Metro union to put strike on hold

Karnataka High Court on Monday directed employee union of Bengaluru Metro to put the strike on hold for the next 10 days. The high court intervened asked the state government to negotiate with the union.

The state government has already notified Metro as an Essential Service under the Karnataka ESMA Act 2013 and the Centre is also set to bring it under the Central ESMA shortly. The union has challenged the legality of invoking ESMA. In a similar hearing in the past, the court had asked them to hold many rounds of discussions to resolve the issue.

The court was hearing a petition on the application filled by BMRCL to vacate the stay on the government's July 7, 2017 notification of extending the provisions of Karnataka Essential Services Maintenance Act to BMRCL services.

The court in October 2017 stayed the government notification based on a petition filed by BMRCL Employees' Union, and earlier this year had directed the union and management to hold conciliatory meetings to sort out the differences.

The BMRCL Employees' Union had called for strike on Monday.