LEFT IN LURCH: Long distance passengers wait in vain for night service buses at Jubilee Bus Station in Secunderabad on Monday night. - PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMAR

HYDERABAD: Buses of the Andhra Pradesh State Transport Corporation (APSRTC) went off the road at midnight on Monday night as the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of employees unions announced its resolve to launch an indefinite stir following failure of talks with the Government.

All buses that left their points of origin will be allowed by the unions to reach their respective destinations but the unions, representing a work force of 1.18 lakhs which runs over 19,000 buses, made it clear that they would not allow services to leave after midnight. Taking a tough stand against the striking employees, the Government put into place a contingency plan for operating private buses, seven-seaters and other vehicles to ensure that 60 per cent of the services were run. It has temporarily recruited thousands of drivers and conductors and offered Rs. 1,000 each to the loyal employees.

Transport Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana held a video conference with district Collectors, SPs and APSRTC's Regional Managers to review the contingency plans, and asked them to protect the loyal staff. He clarified that passes of all kind would be valid during the strike only if the bus was manned by the RTC driver and conductor. He said the loss on account of the strike would be Rs. 10 crores per day calculated at 66 per cent occupancy rate as now.

Undeterred, leaders of the Joint Action Committee of APSRTC Unions said they were prepared to face any consequences of their strike, including arrest. At the end of two rounds of talks, the JAC regretted the "lack of the desired response from the Government". Referring to the concessions to the tune of Rs. 500 crores announced by the Government, the unions said much of it was lost due to the increase in sales tax on diesel and hikes in petroleum prices.

Talks fail

The talks broke down mainly over the employees' demand of an interim relief. Among the several proposals that did the rounds were an across-the-board sanction of Rs. 2,000 to provide some relief for employees facing cash crunch, a sum that would be deducted once the revised pay came into effect from April 1, 2006.

A package, worth at least Rs. 2,500 for each of the employees, was said to have been put together by the Government, consisting of the balance of the 50 per cent leave encashment and DA arrears.

Ban orders

The Hyderabad Police imposed prohibitory orders in Hyderabad in connection with the strike.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail