21-07-2025
RTC workers threaten hunger strike over unmet demands
Hyderabad: TheTelangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) Workers Union has issued a warning to the state government, threatening to launch a mass hunger strike at Indira Park if long-pending workers' demands are not immediately addressed.
The union's General Secretary, K Rajireddy, highlighted several critical concerns that have prompted this decision to call for a hunger strike. Among the key unresolved demands are wage revision, denied union recognition, and unpaid dues.
Rajireddy stated, 'Despite Congress's 2023 election promise, the 2021 wage revision remains unimplemented. The previous BRS regime abolished welfare committees and banned unions—a policy the Congress government has yet to reverse. The government claims to have sanctioned 3,038 posts yet continues outsourcing drivers and conductors—a first in RTC's history.' Workers are also seeking a 100 per cent increase in the 2017 wage revision allowances. They demand immediae payment of 11 pending Dearness Allowances (DAs) from 2019 to 2024. Additionally, they seek arrears in bonds with five-year interest. There is also increased pressure on employees without job security or the regularisation of temporary staff. The Union demands immediate action on several fronts. These include forming a committee with union representation to draft RTC merger rules, withdrawing false police cases from the 2019 strike, ceasing outsourcing and commencing regular recruitment, compensating families of deceased/medically unfit workers, reviewing wrongful terminations under the Mahalakshmi scheme and breath analyser disputes, and holding elections for RTC's Credit Cooperative Society (CCS).
