india

Updated: Nov 04, 2019 21:39 IST

Striking employees of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) have refused to respond to Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s November 5 deadline of joining their duties to save their jobs, officials and the employees’ unions said Monday.

Out of 48000 employees who began the strike last month, less than two dozen have returned to work following the CM announcing the deadline on Saturday.

An official in the RTC headquarters in Hyderabad familiar with the development said only 16 employees had reported to their duties in the last two days, while chairman of joint action committee (JAC) of RTC employees’ unions E Ashwathama Reddy claimed that only 11 had gone back to their duties of which five employees had returned to the strike which entered 31st day on Monday.

“The employees are not willing to join the duties unconditionally. Let the government call the employees’ unions for talks on their demands. We are ready for talks with a give-and-take approach. The government should look into the demands in humanitarian angle,” Reddy said.

Reddy vehemently opposed the cabinet’s decision to give private permits to 5,100 buses out of the total number of 10,400 buses in the state and wondered what would be the fate of 49,000 employees assuming that the striking employees returned to their duties unconditionally.

“For operating the remaining 50 per cent buses, the RTC requires just 25,000 employees. Where will the remaining 24,000-odd employees go?” he asked.

On Saturday, the chief minister had warned that the remaining bus services would also be privatised if those on strike don’t join duty by the midnight of November 5.

Nearly 48,000 out of the RTC’s 49000 employees and workers had boycotted work and began an indefinite strike from October 5 across Telangana on a call given by the JAC demanding merger of the Corporation with the government, pay revision, recruitment to various posts, among others resulting in state-run buses staying off roads causing inconvenience to commuters.