As many as 26,848 of the 27,471 employees (97.73%) of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) participated in the much-delayed 2020 referendum held on Wednesday to select recognised unions in the transport undertaking.
The highest number of votes was registered in the Thiruvananthapuram Zone with 10,147 of the 10,349 eligible employees casting vote. In the Central Zone based in Ernakulam, 9,574 of the 9,817 participated.
In the North Zone headquartered in Kozhikode, 7,121 of the 7,305 staff exercised their franchise. As many as 100 booths were set up in depots across the State. The results will be declared on January 1.
The validity of the recognised unions — the CITU-affiliated Kerala State Road Transport Employees Association (KSRTEA) and the INTUC-affiliated Transport Democratic Federation (TDF) — had ended on December 14, 2019 after a six-month grace period.
HC intervention
The last referendum was in 2016. A minimum of 15% votes is needed for becoming a registered union as per the Kerala Recognition of Trade Union Act, 2010 and the Kerala Recognition of Trade Unions Rules, 2011. In 2016, the KSRTEA got 48% votes and the TDF 28% from an electorate of 42,000.
The referendum comes after the intervention of the High Court in a case filed by the TDF. The Labour Commissioner had found 14 trade unions in the KSRTC eligible for participating in the 2020 referendum.
