The timing of the strike launched by employees of the APS RTC has come in for criticism from different sections of people.
The employees, owing their allegiance to all trade unions, launched the strike from Tuesday midnight, demanding, among other things, implementation of wage revision with effect from April 1, 2013.
Commuters had a tough time as all the buses were off the road on Wednesday morning. Employees, under the aegis of different trade unions, staged protests at the depots.
In all, 1,030 buses, including 650 city buses, are operated by the RTC in the district. Autorickshaw drivers did brisk business and private travel operators jacked up fares taking advantage of the situation. Passengers thronged the railway station and formed long queues outside the general compartments of different trains to get a ‘foothold’. The RTC management recruited drivers and conductors on ‘temporary basis’ to operate skeletal services. RTC Regional Manager Y. Jagadeesh Babu said that 159 hire buses were pressed into service in the district by noon. The number went up to 280 by evening.
Temporary posts
Candidates applying for temporary driver post should be holders of heavy vehicle licence and have one-and-a-half years experience. They would be recruited though a selection test. Selected candidates would be paid Rs.1,000 per day. The minimum eligibility for conductors is a pass in SSC and selected candidates would be paid Rs.800 per day. The Vizianagaram zone, comprising Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, and East Godavari districts, has incurred a revenue loss of Rs.2.2 crore on the first day of the strike, according to Executive Director (Vizianagaram zone) A. Ramakrishna. “All the 14,000 employees in the zone are on strike and temporary arrangements are being made to ply the buses over short distances as it is risky to operate buses to Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati, and Hyderabad with temporary staff,” Mr. Ramakrishna said.
