After a long-drawn protest over salary issue in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), a section of employees under the aegis of the Transport Democratic Federation (TDF), the trade union affiliated to the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), decided to launch an indefinite strike against the management’s decision to implement 12-hour duty system in the transport utility.
The strike notice has been given to the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the KSRTC by the TDF.
According to the notice, the workers will start an indefinite strike led by M. Vincent, MLA, working president of the TDF, from October 1. The other unions have decided not to strike, especially as an assurance has been given at the conciliatory talks held between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and representatives of various trade unions that salary would be disbursed before 5th of every month.
The management’s decision to extend the eight-hour duty to 12 hours, though the workers will not be given working time beyond eight hours, has irked all the trade unions. The peak duty time in KSRTC is between 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Switching to the 12-hour system would enable the Corporation to effectively utilise the workforce during peak travel hours, although the employees would not be given more than eight hours at a stretch. But the employees will have to spend about 12 hours in the office with the implementation of the new system.
