Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan was yet to sign the draft Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (Absorption of Employees into Government Service) Bill on Saturday evening. This was hours after hundreds of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) workers marched from the B.R.Ambedkar Statue near Tank Bund in Hyderabad to her official residence in Raj Bhavan, demanding that she give her assent to the Bill that seeks to absorb workers of the transport behemoth with the government.
Around 10.45 a.m., amid a large number of police personnel, and taking the Khairtabad flyover on foot, workers marched raising pro-Telangana slogans even as they sought justice and immediate clearance of the draft Bill.
“We want the Governor to sign the Bill and have a large heart for TSRTC employees,” Premalatha, a conductor from the Musheerabad Depot, told The Hindu. “KCR has kept his promise by bringing the Bill. The Governor would be helping RTC workers by signing it,” she said.
While workers waited outside, Telangana Mazdoor Union representative Thomas Reddy emerged from the Raj Bhavan and said that the Governor had assured them that the file would be cleared once the government gives answers to her objections. He added that the discussions with the Governor gave them the confidence that the Bill would be cleared and sent to the government to be passed in the Assembly on the very same day. Other union leaders such as K. Raji Reddy, an office-bearer of TSRTC Employees Union, was also part of the protest.
Camaraderie was on display as workers discussed the latest developments. Handing orange candies to workers, Mohammed Abdul Haji, a mechanic from the Falaknuma Depot, recalled the 2019 strike and said that workers had braved batons. Telangana Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao, he added, had given them hope of a better livelihood after he announced the absorption of workers with the government.
“I have been in service from 1989 as a permanent worker. RTC workers get paid less and they have no other source of income, apart from their jobs. We were hoping that the merger would increase our pay. We are requesting the Governor to sign the Bill as it would help us all,” he said.
As the workers congregated on the roads and raised slogans, the Governor posted her views on X (formerly Twitter) and said she is studying the Bill and wants to protect the rights of the workers.
Later in the day, Dr.Soundararajan had a virtual interaction with union leaders, including E.Ashwathama Reddy and K.Hanumanthu Mudiraj. In a post on X around 5.30 p.m., she expressed her solidarity with the protesting TSRTC workers and said that given their well-being was paramount, her concern was that the Bill should not be passed “haphazardly”.
Coming out of the Raj Bhavan, Telangana Mazdoor Union representative Thomas Reddy said the Governor had assured them that she would clear the file once the answers to her objections were given by the government. He said the discussions with the Governor gave them the confidence that the Bill would be cleared and sent to the government to be passed in the Assembly.
