At the crux of the indefinite strike proposed by the Road Transport Corporation employees, starting Wednesday, is the demand for salary revision, which the government says is impossible to meet at the present juncture.
Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar, speaking to media persons after a meeting on the issue with Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday, categorically said that “there was no question of treating RTC employees like other State government employees and implementing Sixth Pay Commission”.
Instead, he announced that the State government has finalised a pay hike of 8% to all RTC employees which will be implemented either after the bypolls or subject to permission from the Election Commission of India, immediately. However, the protesting RTC employees rejected this offer and accused the State government of “going back on its word”.
“Deputy Chief Minister and Transport Minister Laxman Savadi had given it to us in writing that the State government will implement Sixth Pay Commission during our protests in December 2020, which the government is now going back on,” said Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, honorary president, KSRTC Employees’ League.
He also criticised Mr. Savadi for being away on campaign when the RTCs are going on an indefinite strike. “The Sixth Pay Commission was never on our agenda. When we asked for RTC employees to be taken on government rolls, it was the government that suggested implementing Sixth Pay Commission,” said R. Chandrashekhar, president of the league.
However, Mr. Ravi said RTCs have been reeling under severe losses already, also due to the reduction in ridership since last year due to the pandemic. “All RTCs combined, the government incurs a loss of ₹4 crore everyday. However, the government has been considerate and has provided ₹2,100 crore in the last one year to RTCs and ensured all employees are paid salaries on time. In this light, we appeal to RTC employees to be considerate and not go on strike,” he said.
Alternative arrangements made
The State government has roped in private players to provide alternative modes of transport for commuters in the State, starting from Wednesday.
Narendra Holkar, Additional Commissioner, Transport Department, said all private players, including private buses, omni buses, maxicabs, and private school buses, are not only allowed to run on all routes, but will also be allowed to use RTC bus stand infrastructure. The State has nearly 16,000 omni buses, nearly one lakh maxicabs and over one lakh private buses, all of which will be pressed into service on all routes. “These private operators cannot charge more than what has been prescribed by the Transport Department,” said Transport Commissioner N. Shivakumar.
Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar said he had written to the South Western Railways appealing to them to run additional trains as the festival weekend is coming up as well. Ashok Kumar Verma, Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru, told The Hindu that many trains were running at less-than-half occupancy and they were working on the State’s request.
Exams postponed
Many varsities, including Bangalore University and Bengaluru Central University, have postponed examinations that were scheduled to be held on April 7 on account of the RTC strike. The decision was taken as a majority of students are dependent on public transport to commute to college.
The Department of Primary and Secondary Education, however, announced that physical classes will continue to be held on Wednesday. But, the presence of students is not mandatory and those who do not report to campus can participate in online classes.
