Hyderabad: RTC staff face family pressure to end strike

Hyderabad: As the uncertainty is increasing over the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) strike even after a week, the pressure from the family members is mounting over the employees as they are questioning them about when things will settle as their salaries remain pending. Some of the employees are even consuming anxiety pills to relieve themselves from the tension.

RTC employees who have to pay their monthly bills are facing a hard time with the news of self-dismissal of the striking employees by the government, as they are being more pressurised for the clearance of dues from vendors, considering the uncertainty over their jobs, as they are yet to get their monthly salaries.

A driver, on condition of anonymity, said, “We are not even being given water when we go home and instead we are being asked about salaries. What do we say? To bear all these tensions, we have to take anxiety pills.”

Mr G. Srinivas, an RTC employee, said, “Some of our employees have also had heart attacks and panic attacks as they are anxious about the ongoing situation. However, we would still fight for our rights.”

“Earlier, it was only in our hands. Then we were requesting the management and the government to accept our demands. However, now other trade unions have also expressed their solidarity with our strike. So now, for any major decision, we need to consult them as well. Anyway, we are not backing off. We will continue to fight for our rights,” said Mr. N. Krishna, greater hyderabad zonal president.

On the seventh day, though a lot of the employees have started to struggle financially, they are still taking part in rallies and protests that their unions are initiating.  There was also human chain formed by the employees and they staged a protest at the RTC crossroads in the city.