The indefinite strike announced by Telangana State Road Transport Corporation employees has taken a serious turn with the attempted self-immolation of a driver. The tragic incident, which occurred within a day of the bus fleet going off the streets, is a grim reminder of the effect of inordinate delays in fulfilling promises and meeting fair demands. It’s true that the Congress government that came to power in December 2023 could not act on the promises because of the state’s precarious finances. But it begs the question: why promise something without a proper roadmap? The transport corporation, which runs about 9,000 buses to ferry lakhs of passengers every day, employs over 38,000 workers—falling short by an estimated 17,000 employees. One can only imagine their burden of work.
Prominent among the workers’ demands are merging the corporation with the government, implementing the 2021 pay scales and 2025 revisions, and recognising trade unions. In 2019, when the employees had gone on a 52-day strike, the then Chief Minister K Chandrasekar Rao had initially rejected their demands, pointing out that the government could not absorb the corporation’s losses and set an untenable precedent for other corporations. Nonetheless, before the elections, he rushed through a Bill to merge the corporation with the government. The Congress had also demanded for it in its manifesto. Yet, everything is back to square one now.
There is merit in the argument that a merger would lead to similar demands from other corporations, burdening the beleaguered government further. However, is it also not true that the government itself is weakening the corporation? Take the free travel scheme for women. The state exchequer is yet to reimburse the transport company about ₹4,000 crore for it. This is when the corporation has outstanding dues of over ₹9,000 crore. The financial burden of the merger would be about ₹500 crore a month. It would be better for all if the government let the corporation be run efficiently, without burdening it.
A panel of officers is negotiating with the workers. The roadmap for well-being that emerges must be implemented if an outright merger is beyond the government at this point. At the end of the day, a state transport corporation cannot be treated as a business alone. It is the primary mode of transport for the state’s people.