HYDERABAD: The government toughened its stance on Friday as the RTC strike dragged on for the third day, inconveniencing lakhs of commuters. The corporation cancelled benefits to union leaders, besides stopping the annual membership fee collected from employees even before talks between RTC Employee Unions and the corporation’s VC and MD N Sambasiva Rao broke down.
APSRTC Employee Union, and RTC Telangana Mazdoor Union, launched the strike on May 6, demanding fitment of 43 per cent.
Speaking to Express, Rao said that he walked out of the discussions as the union leaders did not discuss about fitment but about other issues not relevant to the strike.
“They picked up the topic of MDs going on foreign trips. Relief is paid to 315 workers though they do not report to work. Among them, 42 employees do not report to duty around the year, but salaries are paid to them. Rs 3.32 crore paid to them is canceled,” Rao said. He added that every worker pays Rs 360 annually to unions and this has been stopped as well.
“They were discussing about these issues, but not fitment,” Rao said, adding the 27 per cent fitment is assured for AP employees, and not to TS.
General secretary of RTC Telangana Mazdoor Union, E Ashwathama Reddy, said that he did raise the issue of foreign trips.