Bus employees protest

BMTA labour union's vice chairman Chamnarn Sinlapakij led more than 70 workers to stage the protest. They were upset that the BMTA had got no new vehicles to replace 700 buses being decommissioned or put under maintenance.

They claim the BMTA had lost business opportunities of Bt33.5 million because of this.

Chamnarn said nothing had been done about the Transport Ministry's plan to lease 4,000 naturalgas buses. Without an "adequate" number of vehicles, bus drivers and fare collectors were being reassigned to take care of other jobs.

"The affected employees are in trouble," he said. The BMTA had also stopped giving a Bt2,000 a month allowance to employees earning less than Bt15,000 a month.

"The government should step in to help. BMTA has suffered a loss because of inefficient management."

The labour union's leaders were seeking a meeting with Deputy Premier Trairong Suwankhiri to discuss their grievances. They vowed to continue pressuring the government until it responds to their demands.