KSRTC Workers Plan Third Round of Strikes, Demand Inclusion in Pay Commission Ambit

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) workers announced a protest starting on December 19, during the commencement of the winter session of the Karnataka legislative Assembly in Belagavi. They said that they will protest outside the DC office in Belagavi along with their family members.

In December 2020, the workers had gone on strike asking for better pay. They demanded that KSRTC employees be included within the ambit of the pay commission. They claimed that their pay was revised every four years in an arbitrary and unscientific manner.

The KSRTC is divided into four corporations – Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), and North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC).

The employees of four transport unions have joined the strike. The biggest of the unions is called Karnataka Rajya Raste Sarige Naukarara Koota (Karnataka State Road Transport Employees Association). It claims to represent at least 25,000 workers.

Chandrashekhar, 43, is the president of the Karnataka Rajya Raste Sarige Naukarara Koota. He has worked as a bus driver for the BMTC since 2004. Last year, he was dismissed from service for organising protests against the government. Speaking to NewsClick, he said, "There are 76 corporations in Karnataka. However, except for two corporations, all others come within the ambit of the pay commission. Only Karnataka Electricity Board (KEB) and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) are paid salaries based on negotiations with the management board. We receive pay revisions every four years. But it's grossly inadequate. In 2016, we had demanded a hike of 45%, but received only 12.5%.”

The KSRTC employees were determined to put an end to the four-year system and demanded inclusion within the ambit of the pay commission. On December 10, 2020, they held a rally from City Railway Station in Bengaluru to Freedom Park. However, they were detained by the police. This action prompted them to consider a stronger approach. Subsequently, in April 2021, the workers announced another strike. The BJP government resorted to dismissals, transfers, suspensions from service and ‘false’ police cases.

Thippeswamy, 42, is a mechanic at the KSRTC. After he joined the protest in 2021, he was suspended from service. He was re-inducted six months later, but half a dozen police cases were filed against him, including IPC 307 (attempt to murder). He attends court hearings and pays legal fees from his own pocket. He said, “We don’t have medical or insurance facilities. Even after working for 14 years, my basic pay still comes to around Rs. 13,000 per month.”

The union leaders say that more than 2,000 KSRTC workers were dismissed during the protest in 2021. However, many of the dismissed and suspended workers were later re-inducted. The BJP government also promised to look into the demands of workers. However, 584 dismissed workers have not yet been taken back. Their cases are pending in the Karnataka High Court.

 Charter of Demands

The full set of demands includes the reappointment of all dismissed workers, the end of the ‘unscientific’ pay revision system and inclusion within the ambit of the pay commission, withdrawal of all police cases filed against striking transport workers, regular elections within employee unions [since 1992, there has not been any election at KSRTC unions), and an end to the policy of indirect privatisation.

 Union leaders say that this sector is indirectly privatised by introducing electric buses. The management and operations of electric buses (for public transport) have been placed entirely in the hands of private corporations. In December last year, CM Bommai flagged off the first fleet of electric buses used for public transportation in Karnataka. A private company, JBM Auto Ltd., had supplied the buses to the BMTC. Subsequently, in August, Tata Motors bagged an order to supply 921 electric buses to the BMTC. The company will operate and maintain the fleet for a period of 12 years. The government hopes to replace the entire fleet with electric buses in the future.

The KSRTC workers have threatened to call an indefinite strike in January if the government fails to pay heed to their demands. The four striking unions have come together under an umbrella organisation called Sarige Nigamagala Naukarara Samana Manskara Vedike (Forum for Like-minded Transport Corporation Employees).