Private bus employees under the CITU-affiliated Kerala State Private Bus Transport Workers’ Federation will go on a State-wide token strike on October 30.
The federation is demanding, among other things, service benefits for private bus workers on a par with Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) employees.
Speaking to presspersons here on Saturday, federation district unit general secretary P.J. Varghese and district president Reji Zachariah said both the government and private bus owners had neglected the over three lakh people employed in the sector. Many of them were not even getting the minimum wages. Faced with the spiralling prices of essential commodities, they were forced to look for other jobs for livelihood.
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In addition to the demand for implementing parity in service benefits with
KSRTC employees, the federation called for implementing a maximum
working duration of eight hours per day and 48 hours per week, granting stage
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carriage permit for operating medium contract carriages on interior routes, increasing the running time to ensure safe speed limits, adopting scientific methods for construction of roads and bridges, preventing harsh treatment of employees who are wrongly accused in accidents, and pressuring the Central government to restore the system of government regulation of petroleum prices.
The federation also demanded amendment to the Welfare Fund Act making the contribution of employers to the welfare fund equal to that of employees.