Bengaluru
An association of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) employees has called for a protest on Wednesday at the Freedom Park in Bengaluru, seeking a pay raise among other demands.
Around 1,000 members of the KSRTC Employees’ Koota, which represents over 15,000 employees, will take part in the protest. However, the protest will not affect the bus operations, said R Chandrashekar, the state president of the KSRTC Employees’ Koota.
Their main demand is the pay revision with effect from January 1, 2020. “The pay the KSRTC employees get is much lower than what employees in other government departments get. The disparity varies from 19% to 65% for different employees,” Chandrashekar said.
Their other demands include revocation of suspension, transfers and cases against the employees who took part in the April 2021 strike.
On Monday evening, representatives of the Joint Action Committee of RTC Trade Unions, which represents six staff associations, held a discussion with KSRTC managing director V Anbukumar, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) director (security and vigilance) Radhika G and other officials regarding their demands.
The members of the Joint Action Committee said that there is no compromise regarding the pay revision agreement with effect from January 1, 2020, and full arrears should be paid to the employees. They also demanded an increase in annual salary, 3% of the revised basic salary, a salary scale, among other demands, to be seriously discussed and settled.
“Anbukumar welcomed the financial situation of the transport corporations and the assistance provided by the government to the corporations, among other issues,” the association said.
Chandrashekar said that the management representatives would hold another meeting with the KSRTC Employees’ Koota on Wednesday, and with other staff unions in the coming days to address their issues.