A day after Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao set November 5 as the deadline for Telangana State Road Transport Corporation workers to report for duty, the TSTRC Joint Action Committee on Sunday said that resumption of duties cannot be unconditional. The trade unions softened their stand and said that they were willing to negotiate, even if it means deferring some demands.
TSTRC JAC leaders E. Ashwathama Reddy, K. Raji Reddy and others spoke to the media at the Telangana Mazdoor Union headquarters and said that before instructing employees to join, there should be clarity on issues such as provident fund and city compensatory scheme.
“We are ready to defer some demands if you start talks as per the Industrial Disputes Act,” Mr. Reddy said.
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The trade union leaders sought to know that if the transport juggernaut were to be privatised, then what fate would befall its 25,000 employees, nearly half the TSRTC staff. They also said that the Backward Classes Commission had lauded the transport juggernaut for having adhered to reservations. In this backdrop, they questioned what would happened to reservations in the organisation.
Criticising the allegations that the strike is ‘illegal’ Mr Reddy said, “In whose hands is the Labour Department? In the government’s. It is their duty to say that the strike is illegal. This is a 100% legal strike. We gave a strike notice. The Labour Commissioner should start talks. No such thing has happened. What did the CM say during Telangana agitation? ‘There is no such thing as legal or illegal’. Have rights gone away after Telangana formation?”
Reacting to the CM’s criticism of the trade unions, the TSTRC JAC said that it has no interest in power and maintained that they are ready to close down unions as long as the State government is read to solve all problems.
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Urging workers not to give up hope, Mr Reddy said, “Do not lose hope, do not give up. There is no need for you to join. If some one reports to duty, it is their choice.”