Hike in retirement age of RTC staff from 58 to 60 years and payment of salaries due to them for the month of September on Monday and wages for the strike period from October 5 to November 28 in one instalment were among several decisions announced by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao at a meeting with a cross-section of them on Sunday.
Mr. Rao had invited five workers, including two women, each from 97 RTC depots in the State and officers of the corporation in various capacities for a luncheon meeting at his camp office where he announced the decisions. He had spoken his intention to convene the meeting on Thursday when he accepted the offer of RTC unions to call off their 52-old strike and let the workers join duty the next day.
A release later said Mr. Rao assured budgetary allocation of ₹1,000 crore for RTC every year from 2020. He allayed apprehensions of privatisation of the RTC and said not a single private bus would run on any of the routes of the corporation. The entire staff would have job security and not a single employee would be displaced.
He expressed the hope that the government support would aid RTC in making a turnaround and earning profits in four months. The corporation should earn a profit of ₹ 1,000 crore every year. In turn, every employee should earn a profit sharing bonus of ₹1 lakh annually.
The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere for two hours after Mr. Rao had lunch in a large group that turned up from depots in RTC buses. Mr. Rao responded to all the issues raised by employees and issued instructions to officers instantly. Those present included Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar, Chief Advisor to government Rajeev Sharma, managing director of the corporation Sunil Sharma, executive directors, regional managers, divisional works managers, depot managers, controllers and supervisors.
