Members of the Tamil Nadu Transport Department Staff Association staged a protest outside the office of the Joint Commissioner of Transport here on Tuesday, opposing the move by the Centre to privatise operations carried out by the Transport Department.
As many as 115 staff members participated in the protest.
K. Manivannan, zonal secretary of the association, said that the replacement of the Motor Vehicles Act 1980, with the New Road Safety Bill, 2014, as suggested by the Centre would affect both the Transport Department and the public alike.
“This will lead to privatisation of functions such as vehicle registration and issuance of licences and fitness certificates. This will, in turn, affect the existing employees in the department and be a threat to job security,” he said.
The staff said that the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation was functioning as a service-oriented body and that the move to privatise functions would shift the focus to profit generation and affect the public dependent on the services.
“If the issuance of licences and fitness certificates is privatised, the de-centralisation of power will lead to lack of discipline and honesty. Licences are still issued only if the drivers appear before an inspecting authority,” they said.
