Hyderabad: Hundreds of TGSRTC workers held a rally from RTC Kala Bhavan to RTC Bhavan on Monday, May 5, demanding that the state government fulfil its election promises.
Raising slogans “Bus ka payya nahin chalega”, the protestors said they are willing to attend discussions if formally invited by the government. However, they warned that if the Congress government continues to make vague statements about being open to dialogue without genuine engagement, they will proceed with the planned strike from May 7.
“There is no sanctity to open-door discussions. The tradition has been that the state government would first specify the date, time and location for the discussions and invite the unions which serve the notice for strike. The TGSRTC management will hold talks with the state government, where the minutes will be recorded. When the agreement is made, it should be signed by the labour department as an intermediary,” said a union leader.
This comes after state transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar appealed to the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) workers to call off their strike. He has invited TGSRTC union leaders for talks.
Demands of TGSRTC unions
One of the major demands of TGSRTC union leaders is their merger with the state government. The previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government had issued an order just before the 2023 Assembly elections. However, the process remains in limbo.
Workers have demanded the payment of 2021 and 2025 pay scales and arrears, and allow the RTC workers’ unions to hold elections.
The state government has been asked to recruit more staff. According to union leaders, 16,000 workers have retired from service, leaving 40,600 serving members. “RTC workers are supposed to work for only 7.5 to 8 hours, but due to the shortage of staff, workers are being made to work for as long as 15 hours,” a union leader said.
TGSRTC workers have vehemently opposed privatisation. They urged the state government to disallow private companies like Olectra and ABN AMRO to purchase and operate electric buses. Instead, they want the organisation to take over the operations in order to receive Rs 40 lakh subsidy per electric buses, which normally cost Rs 1.2 crore.
Unions split by leadership
Interestingly, some union leaders met Ponnam Prabhakar on Monday and submitted a representation highlighting the issues. The move was met with animosity among the union leaders’ community.
“The union leaders who met the minister also belonged to the RTC unions, but they are not holding any active positions. They were not the ones who served the strike notice. So, how can the state government have discussions with such people? It is now clear that the government is of the impression that the workers don’t have the guts to go on strike. We will show the government what we are capable of,” warned E Venkanna, a union member.
Ponnam Prabhakar has appealed to call off the strike. He stated that the state government has cleared arrears of Rs 400 crore pending since 2013, as well as 21 percent of the 2017 pay scales. “The government is currently under a burden of Rs 412 crore per year,” he reportedly said.
The transport minister further informed that the government has paid the pending provident fund amount of Rs 1039 crore. “From January 2024, the government has regularly paid the monthly provident fund,” the minister stated.
The minister alleged that 1,500 new recruits were hired under compassionate grounds. Additionally, the state government has sanctioned 3,038 positions, which will be filled soon.
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