The 3,861 empanelled conductors who have not completed 10 years and 120 days of minimum service in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will not be provided duty from Monday.
The management will give oral direction to unit heads across the State late in the night on Sunday to dispense with the services of these empanelled conductors from Monday as ordered by the Kerala High Court.
“None of the 3,861 empanelled conductors will be on duty from Monday as we have decided to retrench the conductors to comply with the High Court directive,” an official of the KSRTC said. Those empanelled conductors who are on duty late on Sunday night and on stay buses will be relieved after completing the shift.
This would enable the KSRTC to inform the High Court on Monday, when the case comes up, that the empanelled conductors had been dispensed with, the official said.
The sudden retrenchment is in the wake of the Division Bench declining the plea of the KSRTC to extend by two months the deadline for implementing the court directive to appoint 4,051 advised by the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC).
According to the KSRTC, 3,861 empanelled conductors were paid salary last month. The retrenchment of the empanelled conductors will not hit the services as the KSRTC has 11,000 conductors on its rolls for the 5,000 buses. An internal report of the KSRTC said 3.02 conductors and drivers were needed for operating one schedule.
But trade unions said the retrenchment would put the transport undertaking into operational crisis, especially in northern districts.
Although 4,500 had figured in the PSC list, the management is of the view that only less than 1,500 will join once getting the posting orders. Being conductors, the KSRTC will also have to impart at least one weeks training to the recruits.
