Nizamabad: RTC Staff allege exploitation at work

Nizamabad: Enforcement of labour laws in the Telangana RTC has gone for a toss these days. Workers have to work long hours and holidays are denied and also, the monetary benefits such as overtime allowances do not apply any more.

It has become the norm for the TSRTC higher official and executives to push for burdening the workers with more workloads. Workers are voicing concerns that labour laws are not being enforced in depots due to the authoritarian rule of Nizamabad region superiors.

It has also become common for drivers performing long route duties to sleep on buses.

There are a total of six depots in the Nizamabad RTC region. As many as 632 fleet services carry commuters to their destinations. According to Section 59 of the Industrial Disputes Act-1948, a worker should not work more than 8 hours a day. If the worker's working hours exceed 8 hours, he should be paid double for every hour. If a worker works more than 48 hours a week he is entitled to a double pay for that time. Employers should not work more than 54 working hours per week with one worker.

In the Telangana RTC Nizamabad region, there are allegations that depot managers are harassing workers by violating those laws. According to labor laws, every person who works five hours in a row should be given a break of at least half an hour. The worker should be given a 4-hour OT cash benefit if he works on weekends. One day should be given as an alternative leave.

Thus the RTC workers have to work for 12 to 14 hours a day and forget about overtime dues. Excessively increasing the travel distance in kilometers is causing mental and physical hardships to the worker with duty restrictions.

Nizamabad Depot-2 as Laboratory

Criticisms have been leveled that the Nizamabad Depot-2 has been turned into a laboratory for labour exploitation. A few days ago the special duties were converted into OTs. OT duties have also been abolished on the basis of kilometers at present and removed those that were previously OT duties and converted the overtime duties to link duties. Special offs are given only if the link does the duties. Thus 25 to 30 duties were changed. The 18 services Nirmal and 18 Warangal at the depot were formerly special off duties. But abolished them and changed them to three hours of overtime duties.

The three-hour OT was then reduced to 2.40pm and then to 1.40pm. TSRTC officials have now removed the overtime benefit that a worker receives on the Nirmal duty. If RTC worker in Nirmal is on duty, Warangal will be on special duty again the next day. Nirmal-Warangal has two link duties which means they are given special off for the third day if they do duties for two days in a row. But for drivers operating the Nirmal-Nizamabad service, a special off is being implemented at the Nirmal depot. According to this calculation, the Nizamabad Depot-2 drivers will have to travel three services to Nirmal for 408 kms in one day and the next day they will have to travel a total of 874 kms for 446 kms in Warangal without rest. That is 12 + 14 = 26 hours working. The 4 hour OT was lifted and the workers were converted to the bond labours.

But their hardship is not limited to working long hours alone. In the name of RTC "protection" drive, workers are ordered to work for one day for the organisation for free.