Salary revision a distant prospect in KSRTC

Referendum to select recognised unions is being delayed

The delay in revising salary and perks is causing much discontent among the 30,000-odd personnel in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation.

A pay revision agreement signed between the management and employees’ unions had expired on February 28, 2016 and there has been no raise in emoluments for the past four years.

Also, the validity of the recognised unions — the CITU-affiliated Kerala State Road Transport Employees Association (KSRTEA) and the INTUC-affiliated Transport Democratic Federation (TDF) — ended on December 14, 2019 after a six-month grace period, drastically reducing the prospects of labour disputes’ redressal.

The last referendum to select recognised unions was held in 2016.

A minimum of 15% votes is needed for becoming a registered union as per the Kerala Recognition of Trade Union Act, 2010 and Kerala Recognition of Trade Unions Rules, 2011. In the 2016 referendum, the KSRTEA got 48% votes and the TDF, 28%, from an electorate of 42,000.

Unions up in arms

The employees and the trade unions are up in arms against the delay in initiating talks for a pay revision agreement. As the KSRTC is in a deep financial crisis, they cannot resort to stir.

Since there is no registered union, the government or the management find it difficult to hold meetings on crucial issues.

At a time when the 11th Pay Commission has initiated work for revising the salary of State employees and teachers, no step has been taken to enter into a new pay revision pact in the KSRTC. “The unions affiliated to the CITU and the AITUC are behind the delay,” sources in the KSRTC said.

14 unions eligible

Following the intervention of the High Court in a case filed by the TDF, the Labour Commissioner, also the Registrar of Trade Unions, had posted the Regional Joint Labour Commissioner, Kozhikode, as the Returning Officer for the referendum on February 20.

The Labour Commissioner had found 14 trade unions eligible for participating in the referendum.

But, sources said no step had been taken to convene a meeting of these unions, post the Assistant Returning Officer, and publish the voters’ list and the election schedule.