The TSRTC Employee Union has alleged that workers who are reporting to duty, and are being treated as either ‘spare’ drivers or conductors on account of a reduced fleet being pressed into service, are being marked as on leave.
According to K Raji Reddy from the TSRTC EU, since the resumption of inter-district and intra-district bus services on May 19, the transport juggernaut has been making use of fewer buses and personnel across depots. “We are saying that those who are reporting as spare should not be marked as on leave. They should be treated on par with others. We condemn this. We have written a letter to the Managing Director and have asked for him to intervene,” Mr Reddy said.
Meanwhile, trade unions such as the Staff and Workers Federation as well as the TSRTC EU have reiterated their demand that diesel be brought within the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax. They said that the unabated rise of fuel prices in the country, especially diesel, would deal a body blow to the TSRTC. “The TSRTC would clock 36 lakh km per day. This has gone down by half due to the pandemic. The revenue would be ₹ 12 crore per day. Now is roughly a quarter of it. Were are losing revenue and the diesel prices are adding an additional, heavy burden. This is why we are asking that diesel be brought under GST,” V S Rao from the SWF said.
