Govt sets 6 pm deadline for RTC staff to join duty

The State government on Friday decided to treat only those TSRTC workers who report for duty by 6 pm on Saturday as employees of the corporation, and the remaining will be deemed to have resigned from their jobs.

The government’s move comes in the wake of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of TSRTC employees and workers unions’ adamant attitude and their decision to go on indefinite strike commencing midnight of Friday.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, who returned from New Delhi after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, went into a huddle with Transport Minister P Ajay Kumar, MPs, the three-member senior IAS officers committee constituted to look into the TSRTC issue and other senior officials at Pragathi Bhavan.

The government said its stand on the strike was a policy decision, and no further talks with the JAC or the employees’ unions would be held. The IAS officers committee also stands dissolved. Animal Husbandry Principal Secretary Sandeep Kumar Sulthania has been appointed as Transport Commissioner.

Chandrashekhar Rao directed the officials to issue a notification immediately to hire about 2,600 buses since these vehicles had served well past their expected mileage. He also directed officials to go easy on private vehicles and allow them to ply for the convenience of people and to facilitate their free movement during the Dasara holidays. The officials were also asked to reduce permit fee by 25 per cent, and in districts adjacent to neighbouring States, vehicles from those States would be allowed to operate in Telangana. The police have been asked to provide necessary security for them.

The government decided to be firm with regard to the RTC strike to ensure discipline in the



corporation, after the three-member committee informed the Chief Minister that they could not make any breakthrough with the JAC during the talks even though the government was ready to resolve their issues.

Expressing dismay at the RTC employees’ attitude despite knowing the precarious financial health of the corporation, the government said the festival season would have only helped TSRTC generate some revenue. The employees’ unions appeared to be determined to cause losses by going on strike, the government observed.

Officials said the employees were violating government orders imposing ban on any kind of strike, besides the RTC management having the rights to dismiss them from their jobs.

Chandrashekhar Rao directed the officials to follow the established rules and regulations while dealing with the RTC strike.

Employees have been asked to report for duty by 6 pm on Saturday failing which they would be deemed to have resigned from their jobs. They have been advised not to fall into the trap of union leaders and safeguard their jobs.

The Chief Minister also declared that there would not be any further discussions with regard to the demands. The government also initiated alternative measures. Officials said the RTC was operating about 10,000 vehicles including 2,100 hired vehicles. As on today, 5,000 temporary drivers have been hired and hence RTC was ready to operate about 7,000 buses from Friday night, they informed the Chief Minister.

Besides the Transport Minister, MPs K Keshav Rao, Nama Nageshwar Rao, Kotha Prabhakar Reddy and Banda Prakash, Chief Secretary S K Joshi and DGP Mahender Reddy participated in the meeting.