Meru cab drivers strike work to press for demands

Even as thousands of commuters were struggling to reach their workplaces on Tuesday morning, leading private cab service in the city Meru added to their problems.

Around 1,000 of Meru's 1800-strong force of cab drivers struck work on Tuesday.

However, according to the company they had asked the drivers to keep off roads in the wake of threatening calls and reports of vehicles being damaged by some 'outsiders' as also former employees.

Around 50-70 drivers were let go by the company and on Tuesday morning a few of them had threatened the company's cabbies and some cabs had their glasses broken at Chembur, Kharghar and Navi Mumbai according to Rajesh Puri, chief executive officer of Meru cabs. He added that a number of drivers had also complained of receiving threatening calls, the company therefore decided to ask them to stay off the roads.

In the afternoon, Shiv Sena secretary Vinayak Raut - who is a patron of the Meru Cab Chalak Sena met management officials along with a delegation.

Raut said the members of the organisation had been demanding reduction of the per day deposit to the company from Rs850 to Rs500, a weekly off, cancellation of reactivation charges, (Meru drivers are required to pay Rs1,000 to the company on resumption from leave).