Even two days after the Hyderabad High Court declared the indefinite strike by the State Road Transport Corporation employees illegal, hundreds of thousands of commuters continued to suffer in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
With the APSRTC Employees Union (EU) and RTC Telangana Mazdoor Union (TMU) deciding to continue their stir on sixth day, no early end to the crisis is in sight.
EU General Secretary K Padmakar said the strike was very much legitimate and it will continue till the demand for 43% wage revision is not accepted by the Government.
Denying that his union was showing contempt towards the judiciary by ignoring the direction of the High Court to end the strike immediately, he said, “We have not put our case before the court till now. We will file our affidavit tomorrow.” He said it was the responsibility of the State Governments to solve the problems.
Though the Cabinet sub-committees of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governments have urged the employees to withdraw the strike promising to come up with a solution in three weeks’ time, the unions of both the States have rejected it.
TMU General Secretary Ashwathama Reddy said that despite the invitation of the subcommittee for talks the strike would continue.
Telangana Home Minister N Narasimha Reddy, who heads the Cabinet sub-committee on RTC employees’ problems, assured that there was no question of any injustice being done to them.
Even as the regular employees continued their protest demonstrations at the bus depots and stations, the management was gradually increasing the number of buses in operation with the help of the contract and temporary employees.
In Warangal bare chested RTC employees Marched on the streets. Similarly a procession was taken out in Khammam, the hotbed of the leftist movements.
Over 1,20.000 employees of RTC in both the States were on strike since May 6 demanding wage revision at par with the other employees of the State Government.