The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : AITUC faults move to ‘privatise’ RTC

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Monday, Mar 24, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

AITUC faults move to ‘privatise’ RTC

Special Correspondent

TIRUPATI: The CPI-controlled AITUC on Sunday strongly criticised the manner in which the State government was systematically trying to implement one by one all its anti-employee decisions and warned that the Congress also would meet the same fate as the TDP if it did not give up the various measures it was contemplating to privatise the APSRTC.

It may be mentioned here that the APSRTC’s Employees Union (EU) affiliated to the AITUC is engaged in a stiff electoral battle with its rival union National Mazdur Union (NMU) for the Statewide election scheduled for April 27.

Addressing gate meetings at the Alipiri depot and at the RTC’s central bus station garage after a scooter rally through the streets of Tirupati, the district general secretary of the AITUC N. Raja Reddy regretted that Chief Minister Rajasekhar Reddy, after expressing complete solidarity with the APSRTC unions as the Opposition leader and pledging not to touch the APSRTC if the congress was voted to power, was precisely upto the same ‘privatisation’ game.

In a statement, he cited in this connection the APSRTC engaging ‘hired buses’ for its services which he said would throw the RTC drivers out of job. He referred to the alleged introduction of the ‘TIMS’ machine which he feared would leave in the lurch the conductors. He also flayed the move to outsource the maintenance of RTC buses, which he apprehended, would ditch the mechanics. He said the EU would fight the upcoming elections mainly on these burning issues. Among the other participants were AITUC district president J. Ramachandraiah, leaders of the CITU, EU and SWF.

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