While all state-run transport corporations in the country believe it is the duty of the passenger who boards a bus to purchase a ticket, the BMTC believes it is the job of the conductor to sell tickets, according to members of the BMTC Employees Union.
At a meeting held in the city on Tuesday, the members of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and the BMTC Employees Unions gathered in order to highlight some of the issues that BMTC employees are facing. “While the state government employees’ wages have been revised by 22 per cent, the BMTC has taken a unilateral decision to hike wages by 10 per cent for its employees. There is also a lot of harassment in terms of transfers and fines,” president of BMTC Employees Federation Prasanna Kumar told Express.
Kumar also alleged that BMTC is violating several set rules by not implementing a transfer policy following directions from the High Court. “In KSRTC, there was a circular issued that a staffer could not be penalised for up to five errors after which they could be fined up to Rs 200 after issuing a notice, this is not being followed in the BMTC where fines are deducted from salaries without notice,” Kumar said.
Employees also complained of having to pay bribes for everything, including getting leaves sanctioned. “Firstly, they keep us for years on end as trainees with a paltry stipend of Rs 6,000 a month and then they deduct bribe from that money too or threaten to suspend or transfer us,” said an employee.
The CITU and the Employees Federation are proposing the immediate framing of a transfer policy on the lines of the policy that is existing in the state for teachers.