RTC buses to go off the roads in State from May 6 midnight

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) is bracing for an indefinite strike starting from midnight of May 6, as the workers’ unions have announced a state-wide strike due to the government’s failure to address their longstanding demands.

The TGSRTC-JAC (Joint Action Committee) of RTC workers have decided to boycott duties and bring all bus services to a complete halt from May 7, with buses being confined to depots across Telangana. However, this move is expected to cause massive disruptions to public transportation Statewide. The JAC put across 21 demands and pressed for merger with the State government for job security, payment of two pay revision commission’s installments along with arrears dating back to 2021 and overdue salaries. They also raised objections to the privatisation of depots in the guise of introducing electric buses.

The unions expressed deep dissatisfaction over the government’s failure, the TGSRTC union members said that none of their demands have been met so far by the State government, especially those made during the election campaign.

Despite issuing a strike notice, workers alleged that there has been no response from the RTC management, the Telangana government, or the Labour Commissioner. A recent joint meeting held in Hyderabad witnessed the RTC-JAC bringing together all major unions. The unions resolved to move forward in unison with a common slogan – ‘One voice, one path – the path of strike’. The JAC urged all unions, regardless of previous internal differences, to unite for this collective struggle. The focus is to protect employee benefits and counter what they claim are government conspiracies against the workers.

The JAC has appealed to the public for support and urged the government to take immediate action to prevent further inconvenience.