As the strike by the employees of Telangana State Road Transport Employees Union (TSRTC) enters the seventh day on Friday, the Joint Action Committee of the employees’ unions have decided to organise protests at the depots at the across the State.
“We are going to stage silent protests with our family members,” Ashwathama Reddy, the Convener of the JAC, has said.
He appealed to Telangana Non-Gazetted Employees Association, teachers’ unions and other unions representing various other government department employees to extend their support to their strike.
The striking employees demand for merging the corporation with the State government, pay the dues owed to the corporation, reduces taxes on diesel consumed by the corporation, revision of pay scales and filling up of about 7,000 vacancies.
The government, which has begun making alternative arrangements to restore the bus services, could restore about 10-20 per cent of the 10,000 buses that the corporation operated.
Meanwhile, All India Congress Committee spokesperson Dasoju Sravan criticised the leaders of TNGOs for meeting the Chief Minister, K Chandrashekar Rao, while their peers in the RTC were striking work.
He accused the Chief Minister of attempting to divide the employees’ unions.
Bharatiya Janata Party State unit President K Laxman extended his party’s support to the striking RTC employees.