The bus services of the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) would be stopped for three days from February 26 if all demands of the All Odisha State Road Transport Staff Association are not met by then.
Association president Nalini Ranjan Pati and other functionaries threatened this at a Press meet held here on Sunday.
The major demands include regularization of contractual jobholders, payment of salary as on the basis of 7 th Pay Commision, payment of dearness allowance (DA) and stopping of collection of compensation from staffs in case of bus accidents.
Pati said there are a total of 1,644 are on job in transport services and, of them, 541 are regular and 1103 serving on contractual basis. “Though the Government has assured to regularise contractual jobholders many times, yet no action has been taken,” lamented Pati.
He also informed that the association has requested the Chief Minister to provide DA o the transport employees as is given to other State employees. However, this demand has also remained unheeded.
“The association has been forced to take a extreme decision to stop the bus services of the OSRTC for three days from February 26 if demands aren’t met by then,” said Pati.
Among others, association general secretary Prashant Kuamr Rout was present. He stated that the State Government has now 449 buses out of which 430 are on transporting passengers at different places.