Ponnam Urges RTC Employees, Families to Call off Strike
Hyderabad: Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Wednesday appealed to RTC employees and their families to call off the strike to protect the organization and ensure public welfare.
He stated that a strike is not a solution, and the government has already constituted a four-member committee of senior officials to address the issues. The committee was instructed to submit its report within four weeks, and he explained that this was not a delaying tactic.
The government has no objection to 29 of the 32 issues raised by RTC employees and they can be resolved immediately. The remaining two issues, RTC merger and recognition of unions, have technical dimensions and require detailed examination. These will be discussed with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
The minister highlighted the important steps taken by the government and added that despite delays in RTC merger, salaries are being paid on the first day of every month.
The long pending 2017 PRC has been cleared along with the pending DA dues apart from the payment of the 2013 pending bonds. While PF dues have been reduced from Rs.1205 crore to Rs.600 crore, CCS dues have been reduced from Rs.690 crore to Rs.300 crore and monthly payments of Rs.75 crore are being made to PF and CCS.
The Minister also stated that in order to reduce the workload, the recruitment of 4,538 personnel will be completed soon and 1,134 people will be assigned personnel. Approximately 250 previously dismissed employees were rehired.
He emphasized that RTC is slowly recovering and that any disruptions at this stage will harm both the institution and the public. RTC acts as a lifeline for rural and economically weaker sections with around 65 lakh passengers daily, including 45 lakh women. Many depend on RTC for education, employment and healthcare.
The Minister called on employees to use democratic means of protest through their leadership, without disrupting public transport. He emphasized that poor people cannot afford alternative travel options.
While assuring that the government was committed to resolving all issues and standing firmly with RTC employees, he urged them to continue their duties and refrain from causing public inconvenience.
