Some union leaders are misleading RTC employees: Ponnam Prabhakar

Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar has asked Road Transport Corporation (RTC) employees to be wary of some union leaders who are misleading workers by distorting facts about RTC’s merger with the government.

He said some Union leaders, who had demanded and agreed to elections for union recognition, were now putting forward a new argument that unification should take place before the elections. This was part of the agenda of the meeting organized by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka during the RTC strike.

Ministers D. Sridhar Babu, Vivek Venkataswamy, Adluri Laxman Kumar, Principal Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao, senior IAS officers, RTC Director General VC Sajjanar Nagi Reddy and around 30 representatives from various RTC employee unions attended the meeting. “The talks resulted in a unanimous decision regarding the demands of the employees,” he said.

Mr. Prabhakar said the employees unanimously agreed that representatives of recognized unions should be included in the committee that will frame the modalities for RTC merger. “Therefore, it was essential that recognition elections be held before the committee was formed,” he said.

The government has initiated the selection process by appointing Joint Labor Commissioner Sunitha as the nodal officer. “Verification of union membership is ongoing and the election schedule will be announced shortly, paving the way for recognition polls,” he said.

The minister said the government wants to avoid complications in the RTC merger process in Andhra Pradesh by ensuring that prominent union leaders participate in framing the merger guidelines. “But now some union leaders were trying to stop both the recognition elections and the merger process by creating unnecessary controversy,” he alleged.

Reiterating that the Congress government stands by its commitments, Mr. Prabhakar appealed to RTC workers not to be influenced by what he called fake propaganda. He said the government was acting in good faith to protect the interests of employees and would honor any assurances given to the workforce.

Mr. Prabhakar said that of the 32 demands put forward by the unions, 29 fell under the purview of the RTC management and three required government intervention. “Action has already been initiated through a committee of Executive Directors to address 29 governance-related issues,” he added. “The 11% PRC approved by the government will come into effect from July salary,” he said.