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Striking RTC employees ignore KCR’s three-day deadline to join duties
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is said to have instructed the authorities to go ahead with the issuance of notification granting permits to 5,100 private buses in the first phase and for the remaining 5,000-odd buses in the subsequent phases.
Most of the over 48,000 employees and workers of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) decided to continue their indefinite strike that entered 33rd day on Wednesday, ignoring the three-day deadline set by Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for them to return to their duties to retain their jobs.
Neither the RTC nor the state government disclosed any official figure of the number of employees joining the duty by midnight of November 5, the deadline given by the chief minister, an official in the Bus Bhavan, the state headquarters of RTC in Hyderabad, said on condition of anonymity that in all, 487 employees returned to their duties in the last three days.
“While 216 employees reported to their duties in the head office, 111 joined back their duties in Greater Hyderabad, 73 in Hyderabad region and 87 in Karimnagar region. Majority of them, however, are office staff. Only a few conductors and drivers reported to the duties,” he said.
Chairman of Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana RTC employees’ unions E Ashwathama Reddy, however, said the number of employees who returned to the duties was less than 200.
“Many of those who reported to the duties in the first two days are now back in strike. Moreover, even those who joined the duties were sent back by the depot managers after obtaining their consent letters without assigning them any work,” he said and complimented the employees for their determination and willpower to continue the strike.
The JAC wants the merger of the Corporation with the government, pay revision, recruitment to various posts, among others.
The chief minister who took a serious note of the defiance of RTC employees, held a nine-hour marathon meeting with the RTC management and also transport department officials that went on till 9 pm.
Though there was no official statement from the chief minister’s office on the outcome of the meeting, an official of the transport department familiar with the development said KCR had instructed the authorities to go ahead with the issuance of notification granting permits to 5,100 private buses in the first phase and for the remaining 5,000-odd buses in the subsequent phases.
“He asked the officials to look into all legal issues that might crop up while granting permits to private buses and come up with a report. In all probability, the notification would be finalised in a day or two,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the RTC management submitted an affidavit in the state high court on Wednesday stating that there were no dues pending whatsoever from the state government to the Corporation.
“While the RTC was facing a debt burden of Rs 3,006 crore, the state government had paid Rs 3,903 crore in the last five years towards concessions being given to various sections of people. In fact, the RTC itself is due to pay Rs 540 crore to the state government towards Motor Vehicle Tax,” in-charge managing director of RTC Sunil Sharma said in the affidavit. The high court will take up hearing on the affidavit on Thursday.
