Hyderabad, April 13 (IANS) Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) employees have decided to go on strike from April 22 in support of their demands.

This was announced by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the TGSRTC employees on Monday.

JAC leaders said that, though they gave notice of the strike on March 13, there was no response from the government or the TGSRTC management.

They said the government should take steps to avert the strike.

JAC chairman Thomas Reddy said they placed 32 demands before the government and the management.

Key demands include merging RTC with the state government, conducting elections for labour unions, and ensuring salaries and benefits on par with those of government employees.

The strike may disrupt public transport across Telangana. Over 6,000 buses were likely to go off the roads, affecting over 60 lakh passengers across the state every day.

The JAC made the announcement even as the transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar appealed to the employees not to go on strike.

He stated that the issue of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation’s merger with the government is under consideration by a committee.

He stated that the government is ready to discuss all issues except two pending matters and assured that employee-related concerns will be resolved.

The minister mentioned that the pending Dearness Allowance (DA) has already been released, while the government is considering the Pay Revision Commission (PRC).

The TGSRTC employees have been demanding that the government implement the promises made in the election manifesto.

The JAC’s demands include the implementation of the long-pending merger of the RTC with the state government, implementation of two Pay Revision Commissions (PRC), payment of pending dues towards the Credit Cooperative Society (CCS) and the employees’ provident fund, and wage revision and pending allowances.

In May last year, the JAC had deferred their indefinite strike after the state government agreed to look into their demands.

The state government had agreed to constitute a three-member IAS committee to hold talks with the employees’ unions and address their demands.

The JAC leaders demanded that the government provide job security to the employees. They also demanded that the government procure electric buses and give them to the RTC.

–IANS

Ms/dan