No end to TSRTC stand-off

​Hyderabad: The Cabinet Sub-Committee on pay revision demand of the TSRTC staff is still undecided and is said to have asked the recognised union of the corporation - TMU - to withdraw their strike notice so that they can request Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to resolve the issue.

According to sources, the TMU leaders have been asked to give a letter to the effect that they would withdraw the strike notice. Sources also said that the Chief Minister was unhappy with the TMU leaders for giving strike notice in the first place though it is the recognised union in the corporation led by minister Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao in the capacity of honorary president.

KCR was unhappy over serving the strike notice even without discussing it with the minister. Apart from this, the Chief Minister was unhappy with TMU leader E Ashwathama Reddy’s outburst against the government during a dharna at Bus Bhavan.

Ashwathama Reddy had said that it was because of the efforts of the RTC employees the Telangana movement had acquired momentum prior to 2014. “How can the officials deny permission for dharna at Bus Bhavan? We will take up dharna at Pragathi Bhavan if the government fails to respond to our demands. We are not dependent on your mercy...we need you and in the same way you need us,” Ashwathama Reddy had aid at the dharna at Bus Bhavan.

After initial rounds of talks, the Chief Minister had said that the demands of the RTC staff were unjustifiable. Later, at a press conference, he said that at a time when the TSRTC was steeped in losses, it is not fair on the part of the employees to seek a hike in their salaries.

The Chief Minster’s announcement led the recognised union to develop cold feet and started meeting the Cabinet Sub-Committee members and the honorary president requesting them to help them get out of the mess which they have created for themselves and wanted them to prevail upon the Chief Minister to consider their demand.

The TMU leaders softened their stand and wanted them to convey the message that they only served strike notice which does not mean they would actually go on strike. However, the government is yet to make any announcement on the demands of the RTC staff.

Sources said that the Sub-Committee members sought a letter stating that they would withdraw the strike notice so that they can take the issue to the Chief Minister. The TMU sources said that they would submit the letter to the CM without any delay.

Meanwhile, the joint action committee of eight unions has demanded that the recognised union TMU should get ready for unified fight to get their demands conceded. The JAC leaders organised a roundtable conference on Monday where they opined that government policies were responsible for the losses to the TSRTC and explained why they had decided to go on strike. They said that the new PRC of the state government employees should be starting from July 1, 2018, but the PRC for RTC is delayed since April 1, 2017.

The leaders pointed out that the Chief Minister while accepting the recommendations of the earlier PRC in 2015 had promised that subsequent PRC would be given immediately without any delay. The staff are denied PRC even after 14 months, alleged the JAC leaders.