Settle matter amicably, says Telangana High Court

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday instructed the striking RTC workers, state government and the RTC management to initiate talks and submit a report on October 18.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy observed, while dealing with a PIL seeking an end to the strike, that both sides should not be at loggerheads due to ego problems.

Admonishing both sides for their attitude which led to the strike, Chief Justice Chauhan said, “The issue should not hang fire. Rather, douse the fire. In the tug of war, the common man is suffering, children are not able to go to school and employees cannot reach offices and women are suffering,” the Chief Justice said.

Reacting to government and union counsels blaming each other, the bench observed that this was like the parent threatening the child or like a family dispute. These should be ignored, it said.

Mr D. Prakash Reddy, senior counsel, appearing for the TSRTC Telangana Mazdoor Union informed the Bench that the grievances of the employees, justifiable demands, were pending before the government since 2018. It is because of the laxity and ignorance on the part of the state, that the situation had come to such a pass.

The bench said, “The wrong (strike) committed by you cannot be justified, once you have invoked the ultimate and last weapon. It has failed. What is another weapon? How can you violate the law by going on strike.”

Asking the union to call off the strike and to join duty by October 17, the bench asked why the Essential Service Maintenance Act (Esma) could not be invoked against the staff.

Mr Prakash Reddy told the bench that the workers were ready to go for negotiations. If some of their grievances are addressed, they would consider calling off the strike.

Chief Justice Chauhan then questioned Advocate General B.S. Prasad why the government had not invited the trade unions for talks after October 5 when the workers went on strike. Why did the government not take concrete steps to mitigate the problems faced by the common citizens,he asked.

In his reply, Mr Prasad explained the alternative arrangements made by the government.

Additional Advocate-General J. Ramachandra Rao, representing the RTC, submitted that the government had been generous towards the employees and had paid them a large pay package in 2015. The employees instead were criticising the government and carrying out “subversive activities”.

He said the demands of employees could not be met because they were beyond reach. “They are asking for the moon, it is not possible,” Mr Rao said. He said the government had decided to take the issue to the labour court under the Industrial Disputes Act.

To this, the bench said, “We are in a democratic society and not in the British era. The government should be more caring of its employees.”