Telangana transport minister urges RTC employees not to go on strike

Hyderabad, May 5 (IANS) Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Monday appealed to Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) employees not to go on strike as this would inconvenience people.

Leaders of TGSRTC employees' unions met the minister to bring their problems to his notice.

Stating that the government was ready to address their issues, the minister urged the employees to withdraw their decision to go on strike from May 6.

Ponnam Prabhakar told the unions that he and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy were always ready to hear their grievances. He stated that the government was giving priority to protection of the RTC, welfare of employees and amenities to passengers.

The minister urged the unions not to go on strike as the RTC has just started recovering from its losses and problems were being addressed.

He also told the union leaders that the previous BRS government had neglected the RTC for 10 years. It neither purchased a single new bus nor provided a job. He alleged that the previous K.C. Rao-led government used the employees Cooperative Credit Society (CCS) and Provident Fund (PF).

Ponnam Prabhakar stated that after the Congress government came to power, it paid Rs 400 crore towards the bonds issued to RTC employees and also paid Rs 1,039 crore to clear long-pending PF arrears and gave Rs 345 crore towards CCS arrears.

The transport minister mentioned that 1,500 appointments were made on compassionate grounds while 3,038 new jobs were approved.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had also made an appeal to TGSRTC employees last week not to go on strike.

Stating that TGSRTC has just started earning profits, he told the employees that it is their organisation and they have the responsibility to protect it.

The Joint Action Committee of TGSRTC employees last month announced that they will go on strike from the midnight of May 6.

CM Revanth Reddy assured the employees that profits earned by the organisation would be kept in their hands and they should suggest how to spend the money.

The Chief Minister told the employees that the state’s financial position was not good and urged them to reconsider their decision and cooperate with the government.

--IANS

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