RTC staff to go on indefinite strike from August 5

Because the Joint Motion Committee (JAC) of the Karnataka State Highway Transport Company (KSRTC) has introduced an indefinite strike from August 5, searching for wage revision and different calls for, the transport division officers clarified that wages have been already revised in 2023 and can solely be revised once more in 2027.

The JAC, which represents workers of all 4 State-run transport firms, has demanded a wage hike efficient from January 1, 2024, and the settlement of pending arrears for 38 months from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2023. It has additionally insisted that the revised pay be relevant for 4 years, as much as December 31, 2027.

Transport officers, nonetheless, preserve that the federal government has already addressed these considerations. “In the course of the COVID-19 interval, regardless of full or partial suspension of bus operations, the federal government continued to pay salaries and allowances to all workers of the 4 transport firms. Later, in March 2023, a authorities order revised wages with impact from March 17, 2023,” a senior official stated.

The official added {that a} notional 15% hike had been granted, which might be carried out by means of month-to-month increments, and stay in drive from 2023 to 2027. “As per the order issued final yr, the subsequent wage revision is just due in 2027,” the official stated, ruling out any scope for modifications earlier than that.

Nevertheless, the JAC, in a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, expressed robust disappointment. “On the July 4 assembly, you rejected our calls for and misinterpreted the earlier authorities’s order. You claimed there are not any pending dues and dominated out any revision earlier than 2027. This has come as a shock to move staff,” the committee acknowledged.