Hyderabad: RTC has no money for salaries

Hyderabad: The Telangana state government and the Road Tra-nsport Corporation (RTC) management informed the High Court that they are unable to pay September salaries to the RTC staff on strike. The 49,000 striking workers salaries total nearly `240 crore, while the RTC has only `7 crore.

TSRTC managing director Sunil Sharma said this in an affidavit before the bench led by Justice Abhinand Kumar Shavili, dealing with two petitions of the Telangana Jathiya Mazdoor Union and TSRTC Bahujana Karimika Union pleading for a direction to TSRTC to pay the salaries for September, 2019.

Asked for a response, Mr Sharma said the critical financial position made RTC unable to pay the salaries on the first of every month from its own resources. It depended on government assistance to pay staff wages.

RTC is left with only `7.49 crore whereas `239.68 crore was required to pay September salaries.

J. Ramchander Rao, additional advocate general representing TSRTC, told the court that the strike prevented the RTC from realising the money. More than `125 crore of revenue was lost during the Dasara festival season due to the strike. The RTC could not pay workers.

Chikkudu Prabhakar, counsel for the petitioners, informed the court that employees on strike have been on duty in September in spite of which RTC is not paying them, making them the equivalent of bonded labour.

He added that 75 per cent of buses are being run, generating revenue. He prayed for a direction to RTC to pay from that. Rao countered that it would be used to pay part-time employees who have been working to provide transport facilities as regular employees were on strike. The case was adjourned to 29 October.