Hyderabad: Strike isn’t illegal, argue RTC staff

Hyderabad: The Joint Action Committee (TSRTC JAC) of the employees unions of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation have come down heavily on the decision of the state government to ignore their demands, which includes merging of RTC into the government.

RTC JAC convenor Ashva-tthama Reddy, S. Babu, president and K Raji Reddy, general secretary of TSRTC employees union, Hanumanth Mudiraj, convenor of the Telangana Jathiya Mazdoor Union, and others have said that they will not back off and demanded that the government should call them for talks.

“We believe in the judiciary. In the past, the court has given a fitting reply to Chief Minister K. Chandra-sekhar Rao in the case of Errum Manzil and Bison Polo ground. Removing over 45,000 employees with the stroke of a pen and leaving their families on the road, is that a decision for the welfare of the people or to satisfy one’s ego?” asked one of the employees.

It has become TSRTC employees versus the state government and the employees are questioning the Chief Minister’s intervention as the matter is still in court and sub judice.

Salaries of thousands of employees who went on strike were halted in the festive month of Dasara. Rendering 45,000 workers jobless will be felt by lakhs of people in the state.

The employees are still firm on their stand and are demanding that the government fulfil their demands. About 99.70 per cent of employees have not turned up for work since the strike started.

On the third day of the RTC employees strike, meanwhile, 11,000 buses were on the roads, which includes, RTC buses, buses of educational institutions, and private buses.

South Central Railways ran ran MMTS additional services in the city, while Hyderabad Metro increased its frequency, according to officials. Though buses were running, occupancy was low and major bus stations such as Jubilee Bus Station, Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station at Imlibun had few waiting passengers.