RTC unions to hold two-day protest after talks fail

Vijayawada: Talks between the Andhra Pradesh Public Transport Department (APSRTC) employees’ Joint Action Committee (JAC) and senior RTC officials on Monday ended without a breakthrough, prompting the unions to go ahead with their planned two-day “RTC Protection Day” protests on July 7 and 8.JAC leaders said employees would wear protest badges after the management failed to give a clear assurance that electric buses would be procured, operated and maintained exclusively by APSRTC instead of private operators.The meeting, chaired by APPTD commissioner and APSRTC vice-chairperson & managing director N. Balasubrahmanyam at RTC House, was convened to discuss a memorandum submitted by the unions on June 11.

The special chief secretary (transport, roads & buildings), MT Krishna Babu, who was expected to attend, could not participate due to unavoidable reasons.Addressing the media after the meeting, JAC conveners Y. Srinivasa Rao and Palisetti Damodara Rao described the discussions as “routine” and said they did not result in any concrete decisions on the issues raised by employees.The unions reiterated their demand that the proposed electric buses should remain under APSRTC’s control, including procurement, maintenance and operations.

They also opposed the allocation of RTC depots to private electric bus operators and demanded that depots at Vidyadharpuram, Guntur-II and Nellore-II, which they claim were shut due to the electric bus programme, be reopened. They also sought to prevent the proposed vacating of the Mangalagiri depot.Among other demands, the JAC sought timely reimbursement of the cost of free bus travel provided to women under the Stree Shakti scheme, recruitment of around 12,000 employees to fill vacancies across categories, the purchase of 4,000 additional buses to meet rising passenger demand, measures to address operational issues under the scheme, and stricter action against attacks on RTC staff by passengers.The unions also raised issues related to outsourcing employees’ wages, promotions, cadre restructuring, maintenance staff, retirement dues, welfare measures, depot-level administrative issues and staff shortages.According to the JAC, officials assured them that matters requiring government intervention would be taken up with the state government and that another meeting would be held to discuss issues within the corporation’s jurisdiction.However, the unions said the assurances were insufficient and announced that their agitation would continue as scheduled, warning that the protests could be intensified if their demands remain unresolved.