RTC employees union to protest against privatisation of depots on February 20

Leaders of A.P. Public Transport Department (APPTD) Employees Union demanded that the government revoke its decision to privatise RTC depots to electric bus operators.

In separate representations made to the senior officials of the corporation, the leaders urged the authorities to reconsider their decision to vacate Guntur-2 depot and Vidyadharapuram depot for electric bus operators and instead, allot them alternative vacant government land.

The union’s State president P. Damodara Rao and general secretary G.V. Narasayya said that as part of the first phase of protest against the decision, the employees would stage demonstrations on February 20 at all the 11 depots where electric buses were being introduced. They demanded that a meeting be convened with the employees’ unions to discuss the issues related to electric buses and to clear the apprehensions among employees.

They said that they were not against the introduction of electric buses in the RTC, but requested the government to ensure that they were managed by the APSRTC, with the support of the State and Central governments.

The union leaders argued that leasing out RTC land in 11 depots to private electric bus operators for 12 years would be detrimental to the future of the corporation, and expressed concern that the proposed Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model would cause financial losses to the corporation and adversely affect employees’ interests.

They warned that all employees unions in the APSRTC would unite and stage a sustained agitation in phases to safeguard the interests of the Corporation and its employees, if government failed to hear their plea.