Uttaranchal Roadway Employees Union (UREU) has issued an ultimatum to the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation (UTC) that if the corporation fails to meet their demands by May 15 then they will be forced to go on indefinite hunger strike from May 16.
The UREU general secretary Ashok Chaudhary said, “Our members are in a grave financial crisis. We have not been paid for the last two months. We have not been paid overtime dues since the past four years.”
He further accused the management of not abiding by the rules and said, “It is because of the mismanagement of the authorities concerned. The condition of the buses we drive is pathetic. The corporation was supposed to buy new buses but the files related to the procurement are still moving from one desk to another.”
When asked about the demands of the union he said, “We have notified UTC about our 15 main demands. These include steps to resolve the problem of unhygienic contractual Dhabas (roadside eateries). We request authorities to conduct their own survey of these Dhabas and check whether or not they are providing the facilities which they are supposed to.”
He also accused SKS Company of not working according to the conditions mentioned in their contract. He said, “The company is charging higher rate than stated for the parking.The company is indulging in various anomalies that are causing financial loss to the corporation. We request authorities to take strict actions against them. As their contract is about to end on May 31, it is only right that their security deposit is seized.”