Hyderabad: The employees’ unions of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) on Monday announced a state-wide indefinite strike from May 6, citing government’s failure to address their long-pending demands.

Under the banner of the TGSRTC Joint Action Committee (JAC), the workers submitted a formal strike notice to the Labour Commissioner and TGSRTC Managing Director VC Sajjanar.

Their demands include a 21-point charter urging immediate action to resolve their grievances. Main among their demands is the merger of RTC employees with the state government.

The JAC has declared that the RTC employees will boycott duties beginning May 7 if their demands are not met. This marks the first major strike by the RTC unions in five years.

Union leaders expressed strong dissatisfaction with the government’s inaction, particularly criticizing the Congress-led administration for not fulfilling promises made during the election campaign. Despite being in office for 16 months, they allege that the government has shown continued apathy towards RTC employees.

The unions highlighted several issues fueling the protest, including the lack of wage revisions, non-payment of pending dues, and delayed salary credits.

They also pointed to the violation of the Motor Transport Workers Act, with many employees being forced to work for 12 to 16 hours a day.

The JAC further noted that the problems extend beyond current employees, with retired staff still awaiting arrears, pay scale corrections, and other retirement benefits. Adding to the unrest is the increasing use of electric buses operated by private entities—a move the unions claim is jeopardizing thousands of public sector jobs without any clear employment guarantees from the government.

The union leaders

have warned that the agitation will intensify across the state if their demands continue to be ignored.