One RTC employees’ union withdraws strike, another to go ahead from March 24

Bengaluru

After a meeting with the Managing Director of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), the Joint Action Committee of employees’ trade unions decided to withdraw its strike scheduled for March 21 demanding changes to their pay revisions.

“The Managing Director listened to all our concerns. He has assured that the pay revision will be applicable from January 1, 2020, itself. He also told us that for the first time, the Government Order had created an opportunity for employees’ unions to participate in arrear discussions. He further said that other issues like payment series, bata, increment, and incentives will be discussed and solved at the corporation level. Hence, we have withdrawn our strike call,” the Joint Action Committee said in a press release.

However, the other union, Sarige Nigmagala Noukarara Samana Manaskara Vedike, has decided to go ahead with their indefinite strike from March 24. When government employees went on a strike, they assured them of implementing the 7th Pay commission and also gave them a 17% hike. When KPTCL employees called for a strike, the government hiked their overall pay by 20%. But only for transport employees, they are not sticking to their written assurances and have only hiked basic pay 15% and cut down on all other economic benefits,” the vedike members said.

They added that they had already provided all the necessary legal notices to officials concerned and they will begin their strike on March 24 unless their demands are met. “We do not know what the other union has negotiated with the government, but our demands still stand and we will go ahead with the strike,” a member said.

The Transport Department, on Thursday said that a 15% hike will be added to the basic salary of the RTC employees, which did not go well with the latter. They said that the government did not keep up its assurances which in turn, forced them to call for a strike.

The State government issued an order on Friday evening announcing a 15% increase in the basic salary of RTC employees, a day after Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced the same. Negotiations started with Transport Minister B. Sriramulu making promise of hike by 10%. Later, in the meeting with the MDs of the corporation, it was proposed to increase up to 14%, after which the Chief Minister finally announced that the salary of employees will be increased by 15%.

The four corporations - KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC, and KKRTC - have a workforce of 1.07 lakh employees and the pay revision for employees has been pending since January 2020.