Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy defended the government’s wage revision proposal, saying the State had already responded positively to the Joint Action Committee (JAC)’s demands and termed the unions’ 25% wage hike demand as “financially unviable”.
He told TNIE that the government had changed the implementation period of wage revision from 2026 to 2025 and increased the settlement period from 14 months to 26 months after discussions with unions.
Reddy claimed that most issues had been resolved during negotiations, but internal differences among union groups led to the strike call.
“We said the government would take one step forward if unions also compromised. But they insisted on a 25% hike,” he said.
The minister stated that implementing a 25% wage revision would require nearly Rs 1,650crore annually and over Rs 6,000 crore over four years, while transport corporations were already burdened with debts exceeding Rs 7,000 crore. He said the corporations’ managing directors had suggested only 7% hike, but the government enhanced the offer to 12.5% after discussions with CM Siddaramaiah.
“We tried to arrive at a reasonable settlement, but the unions announced the strike before further discussions could conclude,” he said. Warning employees against abstaining from work, the minister said the government would invoke the ‘no work, no pay’ principle if employees failed to report for duty. Ahead of the indefinite strike call, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation issued a ‘no work, no pay’ warning to employees.
In a circular, Managing Director Akram Pasha said employees of the four state-run transport corporations are prohibited from striking under the Karnataka Essential Services Maintenance Act, with services classified as “public utility services”. The corporation said the dispute is under conciliation before the labour commissioner, making the strike legally impermissible. Employees have been directed to report for duty, failing which disciplinary action and salary deductions may follow.
