Telangana: TSRTC employees launch strike a day ahead of Dussehra

The members of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation Joint Action Committee (TSRTC-JAC) and employees went on a strike on Saturday, October 5. Transport Corporation Joint Action Committee is demanding for the merger of the Regional Transport Committee with the Telangana government. They are also asking for the prohibition of electric buses. More than 2,000 busses will be grounded in the state because of the strike.

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Ashwatama Reddy, RTC, JAC President has urged all the employees of RTC to participate in the strike and see that the demands of RTC employs will be considered by the government. 

Prakash (an employee), While talking to a news agency, said,  "Our demand from the government is that the Telangana Regional Transport Corporation should be merged with the government. Second, we need higher wages. The government had promised us a higher pay scale but they have not increased it so far. More than 9,000 people have taken retirement this year but they have not hired anyone to fill the vacant posts. The workload has increased on us."

"We are facing losses due to the diesel tax and road tax which the state government is taking from us. We want the government to remove these taxes," he added.

Another employee said, "The government should listen to our demands. They are making us suffer and now they are threatening us that we will lose our jobs if we participate in the strike. This is not at all fair."

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State Government warns employees

The State government released a statement warning the TSRTC employees to not participate in the strike and confirmed those who are caught involved in the strike will be terminated. As per the government order, employees who report to the bus station on or before 6 pm on October 6 will be considered as RTC employees and others who report post 6 pm will not be considered a part of RTC. Ahead of the Dussehra festival, the government plans to run 7,000 buses in the state to facilitate the public. Private bus owners have been invited by the government to run their buses. The government is also in talks with the neighbouring states for providing more buses so that people do not face any problems or inconvenience due to the strike.

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(With inputs from ANI)