Bengaluru, Apr 16: There is no sign of State Transport Employees withdrawing their agitation as Karnataka Government is not ready to yield to the pressure tactics and thus woes of travelling public continued for the 10th day.
The relief to some extent was Private operators continued their services in the BMTC and KSRTC routes.
The agitators today staged a protest in front of the house of Legislators urging the government to implement a 6th pay commission on par with state government employees.
KSRTC officials claimed that more than 4000 buses resumed service and expect more and more joining soon.
Official sources said that so far 240 employees have been removed from the service. An order in this effect was issued by BMTC.
Private buses and other Public Transport vehicles, which have been given temporary permission to operate on mofussil routes, plied as usual. As a convenience to commuters, boards that mentioned the routes and final destination were pasted on Private vehicles.
All Karnataka Road Transport Employees’ Federation North Eastern Zone president Chandrakanth Gaddagi said the employees should withdraw their strike and return to duty in the interest of the public as Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi have already agreed for their salary revision.
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporations’ Veerashaiva Lingayat Employees’ Welfare Association President Sangamnath Rabashetty said the Transport Minister has agreed to hike salary by 12 per cent and has also responded positively for cancelling transfers. The employees should immediately return to the duty to prevent privatisation of the transport department.
KSRTC SC/ST Employees' Association has called on employees of road transport corporations who are on strike, to return to work to save RTCs from privatisation. The BJP government wants to privatise RTCs and therefore, it is not responding to the demand of agitating employees. To fight against that conspiracy, SC/ST employees should return to work, and another round of struggle for their demands can be launched later," said the association president F H Jakkappanavar.
Nearly 40 per cent of employees against whom actions like transfer and suspension are taken belong to SC/ST communities. Utilising the strike, the government is trying to privatise RTCs, he charged.
"Our main demand is to consider RTC employees as government employees, but only the sixth pay commission issue is being highlighted now", he added.
"The strike was launched without proper discussion, that too during the Covid-19 situation. Employees of the RTCs should withdraw the strike to save RTCs from privatisation, and to end inconvenience being experienced by the public," said AITUC district unit President Devanand Jagapur. Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, who is leading the strike, seems to be into an unholy pact with the government which is in favour of privatisation of RTCs, he alleged.
So far 947 out of about 1,800 employees attached to four depots of KSRTC Mysuru City Division have reported for duty, while 845 out of the nearly 3,000 staff attached to Mysuru Rural Division have reported for work, according to KSRTC sources.
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