HYDERABAD: All eyes are now on the state government, as the RTC Joint Action Committee (JAC) on Wednesday announced that it was ready to call off its 47-day-old strike, provided the RTC management inducts the employees back without any conditions.
“If the management ensures an atmosphere such as it was on October 4, when the employees went on strike, we will report for duty. We respect the HC order and are willing to allow the process in the labour court as well. The government must also abide by what the high court has stated and act as a model employer and be kind towards the employees,” JAC convenor E Ashwathama Reddy said.
The government has not yet responded to the unions’ offer. The fear of conditions being placed on them comes from the fact that Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao earlier said all protesting employees stood “self-dismissed” and if they wished to return, they would have to promise to stay out of unions.
Reddy further stated that until the government invited them to return to work, they would continue their strike. “If conditions are placed, we will continue our strike. For now, we will wait to see what the government has to say,” he said, adding that the employees would not sign any document other than the duty slip.
A press release by the JAC noted that the matter must be taken up with the labour court, where the staff would press for their 26 demands, including a merger with the government. “All demands will be taken to the labour court, which will resolve the matter in three months. The staff will trust this process,” Reddy said, adding that they were open to talks with the government. So far, none of the workers’ demands, even for staff restrooms, has been fulfilled.
The JAC on Tuesday called a meeting of all depot-level, district-level and central committee leaders to discuss their next steps. The employees overwhelmingly asserted that they would return to work only if there were no conditions with regard to joining unions.