VIJAYAWADA: With employees still uncertain if earlier benefits would be given to them after the APSRTC’s merger with the State government, corporation vice-chairman and managing director M Pratap maintained that the management has no intention of removing the benefits and assured the Employees Union leaders that the issue would be discussed with the government. Pratap on Monday visited the union’s office on the premises of Pandit Nehru Bus Station and interacted with its president YV Rao and general secretary P Damodar.
During his visit, the VC and MD informed the leaders that the government had approved reports submitted by the merger committee, headed by former IPS officer Anjaneya Reddy, and another seven-member working group, headed by Principal Secretary (Transport, R&B) MT Krishna Babu.
Necessary measures will be informed to the government about the difficulties being faced by them and asked them not to panic over the matter, he said, adding that the government was drafting proposals to strengthen the public transport system by introducing new air-conditioned buses in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the second board meeting of APSRTC management was held at RTC House in the city on Monday.
“In the agenda, we discussed scrapping of the Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme (SRBT) and Staff Benevolent Trust (SBT) following the reports submitted by the two merger committees appointed by the government. Once again, the employees can submit their objections to the government over the continuation of benefits provided to them,” said a senior RTC official on the condition of anonymity.