May Day: Drivers’ union stages protest in Chandigarh

The Chandigarh Tricity Drivers’ Union staged a protest in support of their demands at Dasehra Ground, Sector 17, on Labour Day.

Over 100 members of the union, who had gathered during the protest, were not allowed to proceed with their planned march towards the Governor’s House. Though the police allowed the protest, they restricted the march as Sector 17 is not a designated protest route.

Union president Amandeep Singh said a policy was notified nearly a year ago but has not been implemented, affecting drivers’ earnings. “Today is Labour Day, listen to the labourers,” said a protester.

As per a memorandum, the union demanded immediate implementation of pending notifications, alleging exploitation by aggregator companies such as Ola, Uber, Rapido and InDriver. It also sought fare display boards, local offices for aggregators in Chandigarh, a “Bharat Taxi” cooperative model, removal of the GPS panic button requirement and 15 minutes of free parking for commercial vehicles at pick-up and drop points.

Following the protest, the Sector 17 SHO of facilitated a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). Additionally, a meeting with the Secretary of the State Transport Authority (STA) is scheduled for Monday.

(The writer is an intern with The Tribune)