After being promised a meeting with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on January 15 to discuss all their demands threadbare, the KSRTC Employees Joint Action Committee, which had announced an indefinite strike from December 31, withdrew the strike call Sunday night.
This comes following a meeting between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy in the evening.
H.V. Anantha Subba Rao, president of the KSRTC Staff and Workers Federation and a prominent leader of the committee, said they had called off the strike after Mr. Reddy promised them a meeting with the Chief Minister on January 15.
“We were approached by Mr. Reddy on Sunday night, and he said that all the issues would be discussed with the Chief Minister on January 15 and requested us to cancel the strike plan. Hence, we have called it off,” Mr. Rao added.
The charter of demands of the committee includes release of arrears and a pay revision, alongside other demands. They estimate that dues across the four RTCs amount to ₹8,010 crore.
“We have introduced several employee welfare measures”
Following the meeting with the Chief Minister, Mr. Reddy had appealed to the unions to call off the strike plan, making a case that their government had introduced several employee welfare measures such as enhancing infrastructure, accident insurance, health scheme, and recruiting 9,000 employees. He promised a patient hearing and all issues to be discussed threadbare with the Chief Minister in the January 15 meeting.
Published – December 29, 2024 09:49 pm IST
