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Road transport staff take to streets for salary hike

BHUBANESWAR: The long restraint shown by employees of the Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) to put forth a 12-year-old salary hike demand finally let loose here on Tuesday. Holding empty plates and bowls, more than 100 employees locked up the main office building of the State-run bus service.

Members of All Orissa State Road Transport Staff Association (AOSRTSA) did not let any higher official enter the office building in front of State Secretariat. For last 100 days these employees had been conducting special prayer sessions for smooth approval of their demands.

On Tuesday, these employees threatened to spread the strike to district level and finally cripple the state bus service if they were made to wait for long.

The OSRTC staff wanted salary on par with other State government employees. Since 1996, they have been demanding implementation of the fifth pay commission recommendations.

Tired of demanding a “respectable” salary, the AOSRTSA said that employees were even prepared to give up their earlier demand of retrospective implementation of the recommendations.

“We are not seeking any benevolence. The corporation has been making profit for the last five years. While there is a standing guideline that profitable corporation can pay enhanced salary, employees have been leading a miserable life,” Bibhu Samantray, assistant secretary of AOSRTSA, said.

He said corporation would require Rs. 97 lakhs per month against the existing Rs. 47 lakhs per month to implement the recommendations.

“When the State road service is making profit excess of Rs. 90 lakhs per month, we have failed to understand where the bottleneck is.”

Employees have pinned all their hopes on a probable land deal of corporation with Reliance Retail.

The company had shown interest to purchase and take lease some patches of land possessed by the corporation. In return, it was estimated that Reliance Retail would pay over Rs. 20 crores and Rs. 15 lakhs per month towards rent of the land.

Sources, however, said the company was delaying the deal due to some last minute hiccups on transfer of land belonging to the OSRTC at Bhubaneswar.

Some desperate employees even reportedly went to the company requesting it to expedite the process so that they could get enhanced salary.

Members of AOSRTSA were in no mood to budge from their five-charter-demand. Other demands include regularisation of temporary workers, no extension to service period of a retired employee and non-shifting of employees from one place to another.

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