In a move that could hit commuters, autorickshaw and cab drivers have come out in support of a strike call given by commercial road transport workers on January 8 and 9 in major cities.

The strike called by the All India Coordination Committee of Road Transport Workers Organisations is supported by the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) and several cab and autorickshaw unions such as Chalak Shakti Union, the Rajdhani Parivahan Panchayat and the Auto Taxi Union-Delhi.

‘No data on premium’

The demands include driver welfare measures such as minimum wages and social security for unorganised road transport workers and lower fuel prices. Pointing to their concern over the yearly increase in third-party insurance premium, the AIMTC and others said the IRDA has not been sharing information on the amount collected as premium and the amount disbursed to accident victims over the last few years.

Apart from high fuel prices, the yearly increase in third-party insurance premium, the GST and demonetisation have hit the road transport sector badly, they said.

“The transport sector is in a bad situation. Taxi drivers and cab operators are not covered under any labour law and do not have any social security cover. The Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill, pending in the Rajya Sabha, will help only big firms,” said R Lakshmaiah, Deputy General Secretary, All India Road Transport Workers Federation (AIRTWF).

Noida-based VV Giri National labour Institute had recommended the enactment of a Social Security Act for unorganised road transport workers and creating a corpus.

Moral support

“The AIMTC is morally supporting the strike,” said AIRTWF Chairman Kultaran Singh Atwal even as he cautioned the government that its next agitation would be an indefinite one.

“The drivers face several difficulties while on the road. They don’t have medical facilities. Our workers face the worst condition in the sector. We are facing driver shortage as well,” said Atwal.

“When our aggregator cabs are stolen, no one takes responsibility,” said Anuj Kumar Rathore, president of the Chalak Shakti Union. The cost of putting panic buttons in autorickshaws and speed governors in cabs is prohibitive, the trade union leaders said.

‘We face discrimination’

“Why should there be speed governors only in commercial vehicles, and not in private vehicles? Who causes more accidents — the commercial cab drivers or the private vehicles?” asked one of the union officials.

After agriculture, road transport is the largest employment-generating sector in India. Workers on the road face vagaries of weather and put their lives at risk. But the workers are not covered under any labour law or social security. They want transport (commercial) drivers to be registered in labour department and have the minimum wage fixed at ₹24,000 a month.

comment COMMENT NOW