RTC women staff take to the streets, air woes

Hyderabad: Ousted women employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) have said that women conductors face a lot of problems in the transport industry and instead of sorting out the problems, the government has sacked them.

There are no or few proper rest rooms for women, separate sitting and eating areas or changing rooms, long pending demands that have been ignored.

The women have carried out their duties sincerely but when they have demanded their rights they have been removed, they say.

“We have not been paid our wages for the last two months and now we have all been terminated from service for expressing our dissent. What must we do know?” questioned Ramula, a former conductor with the TSRTC.

To express their solidarity for the strike, women and transgender organisations JAC organised a round table conference with women conductors about their work conditions and challenges.

“We have made a few resolutions and we need the government to act upon them. First of all, the dues that are pending must be paid. Also, there must be an ex-gratia payment to the families of the deceased RTC workers,” said K. Sajaya a social activist.

They also want a state-level committee to probe and identify the problems a woman faces in this industry. This must be taken up on a priority basis.

"We cannot be blamed for the losses of the company. We need the corporation to be taken under the ambit of the state government. The government must understand that we have families too," said Jyoti, who used to work as a conductor.

In similar vein, the state general secretary of the workers' union (Telangana Mazdoor Union), Usha Kiran, said, "Ours are genuine and rightful demands. The state government should do everything in its power to merge the RTC with it and start a dialogue process with unions."