The Star
Tuesday February 5, 2008
Commuters caught unaware by strike
By BAVANI M and LIM CHIA YING
ABOUT 200 Rapid KL bus drivers, mostly plying the KL-Shah Alam route, went on strike over pay as well as to protest against wage cuts yesterday.
The usual buzz at the Rapid KL’s KL Sentral hub in Brickfields on Monday morning was missing.
Waiting in line: A security guard walking past a row of empty buses at the depot.
One of Kuala Lumpur’s busiest stations looked very much like a ghost town and when StarMetro visited it at 9am yesterday, there were only two buses at the station.
An officer manning the counter said the majority of drivers who went on strike were plying the KL-Shah Alam route while quite a number plying the city routes were on medical leave.
However, a check at 11am at the Rapid KL Shah Alam depot in Section 26 revealed that many of the drivers had dispersed and operations had resumed.
But commuters, especially students from college and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), were stranded at the bus hub during the strike, which started at 6am, as there weren’t any buses going to Shah Alam.
Drivers at the KL Sentral hub who spoke under condition of anonymity said that the strike was carried out to express their anger and dissatisfaction over Rapid KL’s unfair treatment.
According to one driver who wished to be identified as Ali, the drivers decided to go on strike after the company had cut their wages as punishment for insufficient fare collection.
According to Ali, the company held the drivers responsible for insufficient fare collection.
“This is unfair as we are not in charge of the collection box. The box is relinquished to security personnel who would later take it to the collection centre.
“We have no access to the box – yet we are made answerable,” he said, adding that the some of the machines were defective.
Ali added that the majority of drivers plying the KL-Shah Alam route had their wages cut because of this.
According to another driver who spoke on condition of anonymity, the drivers were issued repeated warning letters due to the insufficient fare. When the problem persisted, that’s when the management decided to cut their wages.
“We haven’t had an increment in two years, there have been no bonuses and we are also answerable to summonses when it’s not even our fault. With the high cost of living and prices escalating, there is just no way we can survive,” he said.
A check at about 11am at the Rapid KL Shah Alam depot in Section 26 revealed that many of the drivers have dispersed and operations have resumed.
Security guards at the depot said the drivers dispersed by about 9.30am with about 10 representatives representing the drivers inside a room having talks with the management.
The depot is said to house more than 100 buses that ply the Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur and Klang route.
Many passengers and students were said to be stranded and unaware as to why no buses were picking them up.
The meeting between the driver representatives and the management company continued through to lunch.
The drivers claimed that Rapid KL chief operating officer Mohd Ali Mohd Nor had left slightly after noon, and said the representatives are in talks with the depot’s management.
“Apparently, a decision would only come out in about two weeks time. Nothing has been decided yet,” said a driver.
“We are lobbying to have a decision sooner. They are saying that salary increment is done in stages but the rest of the staff have received theirs and only the drivers have been overlooked,” he added.
In a statement, Rapid KL said the disruption to bus services out of Shah Alam depot were due to an operational glitch and buses were unable to commence service at the normal time.
The CEO’s office general manager Shahril Mokhtar said they were able to overcome the problem and all buses were deployed at 9.30am where service resumed as normal.
“This issue has been resolved, and we would like to apologise to all commuters who were affected by the disruption.”
A total of 31 bus routes were affected of which 18 were Tempatan routes, 12 Utama routes, and the Express service from Klang to Pasar Seni.
The statement, however, did not confirm or elaborate if there had been a strike by the drivers.
. The Utama buses are a good alternative to KTM Komuter.
