Temp staff too join stir in Nizamabad

In a surprising move, bus operators who had been hired to drive buses during the RTC strike joined the strike themselves in the Nizamabad region. They suspended bus services in all depots in Nizamabad and Kamareddy districts on Wednesday.

Hiring private buses and drivers to run the public transport service has given much relief to the RTC management to keep the service afloat during the 18 day strike by the employees. There is no word if hired drivers from other regions will also be joining the strike. RTC staff urged the hired bus owners association to extend their support. Reacting to this, hired buses halted their operations in Nizamabad and Kamareddy districts.

The RTC Trade Unions Joint Action Committee (JAC) convener Ashvathama Reddy demanded that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao dissolve the Assembly and seek a fresh mandate from the people.

He alleged that the RTC strike has exposed the anti-people attitude of the ruling party and the Chief Minister. He criticised the state government for wasting time by constituting committees on the

RTC workers’ and employees’ demands instead taking serious steps to address their problems.

While addressing the RTC workers and employees at the Vanta-Varpu programme at Dilsukhnagar bus depot on Wednesday, he said that they would not go back on any of their 45 demands.

Mr Reddy sought to remind the TRS that the RTC strike was a major reason for the TD’s defeat in 2004. He said that Mr Rao had, during the Telangana agitation, claimed that all RTC employees would be recognised as government employees if a separate Telangana state turns into realty. He said, “We are demanding that the Chief Minister fulfill the promise. If Mr Rao is unable to recognise us as state government employees, let him explain why.”

Terming the deaths of RTC employees as government killings, he said that if the chief minister felt that the RTC strike is illegitimate, then public opinion should be sought and if the people say the strike is unfair, then all the workers will resume to duty immediately.