Kerala State Road Transport Corporation not to pay salary for union work'

Kochi: The management of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to impose dies-non (no work, no salary) upon its employees going on leave enmasse. The measure is aimed at preventing staff skipping duty in the name of union activities. “We have taken the measure following several instances when bus services were disrupted due to staff shortage. A primary analysis revealed that though there is adequate staff, many skip duty in the name of party works. Now such people will not be eligible for any incentive or salary for the day,” a senior KSRTC officer said.

What led to the quick action was the cancellation of 445 bus services on Thursday last. “Out of the 5,615 buses, we could operate only 5,170, resulting in a loss of Rs 40 lakh. On that day, both TDF and INTUC unions had held protest marches,” he said. Usually, the practice is that the union leaders submit leave application of its members enmasse during such days.

“We can’t deploy replacement crew for all these buses. The management is not against political activities, but the same should not be at the cost of bus services,” the officer said. In its effort to cut down on losses, the KSRTC management had earlier all depots to classify bus schedules into ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ and the services under the first two classes should be operated under any circumstances. “However, the same could not be followed in main depots in many days,” he said.