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MSRTC DA Hike: 5-Point Gain, ₹114 Cr Cost, Union Strike Threat
Maharashtra hiked MSRTC DA by 5 points to 58%, costing ₹13.75 Cr/year plus ₹100 Cr in HRA arrears. Unions threaten chakka jam in late June if back pay is not cleared. The next marker is the CM meeting.
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Maharashtra hiked the dearness allowance for Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees by 5 percentage points, to 58% of basic pay. Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik announced the move June 11, aligning the operator's staff with state government workers. The cost to the corporation: an extra ₹13.75 crore a year, plus ₹100 crore in pending House Rent Allowance arrears.
MSRTC runs 15,000-plus buses and employs 86,000 people. Daily passenger count tops 55 lakh. Those scale numbers also highlight thin cash margins. Sarnaik acknowledged the financial bind. "As the financial condition of ST improves, we will fulfil the employees' legitimate financial demands in a phased manner," he said. "I appeal to the unions to withdraw their agitation. I sincerely request that passengers should not be made to suffer."
Employee unions are not backing off. The Maharashtra ST Kamgar Sanghatana Kruti Samiti, a joint action committee, said a "chakka jam" protest is set for late June if unpaid DA arrears – separate from the 5-point hike – are not cleared. Leader Shrirang Barge told reporters the minister offered no assurance on those back payments. "We were disappointed," he said.
Sarnaik promised future DA hikes for state employees will be extended to ST workers immediately – a recurring liability. He also said pending salary revision arrears will be paid in phases. A meeting with the Chief Minister and both Deputy Chief Ministers is being arranged.
MSRTC does not trade a listed stock. It is a key credit node in Maharashtra's state-guaranteed debt market. A June shutdown, even a one-day chakka jam, would hit daily passenger revenue – roughly ₹25-30 crore – at a time when the corporation is drawing on state support to cover wage costs. If unions escalate to a prolonged strike, the state government may need to step in with an emergency subsidy or bridge loan, adding to Maharashtra's ₹6.2-lakh-crore total debt. The next concrete marker is the meeting with the Chief Minister. Until that happens, unions hold the leverage, and the June-end deadline is two weeks away.