As management failed to meet their demands, two recognised unions of the corporations namely Indian National Trade Union Congress-affiliated Transport Democratic Federation (TDF) and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh-affiliated Kerala State Transport Employees Sangh (KSTES) to hold 24-hour strike.
After a meeting convened by KSRTC Chairman and Managing Director Biju Prabhakar, said that the management had not taken a favourable decision on their demands. This urged them go ahead with the strike. TDF working president R. Sasidharan said the strike notice was given on February 8, but the government was however not ready for talks. “The KSRTC-SWIFT will destroy the KSRTC. The employees are drawing salaries of 2012 and the management is not willing to initiate even preliminary talks on wage revision,” Mr. Sasidharan said.
The Unions have been demanding withdrawal of the move to float KSRTC-SWIFT, an independent company to operate long-distance buses using contract staff, immediate revision of salary, disbursal of nine installments of Dearness Allowance, government takeover of pension liability, the revival of the dying-in-harness scheme, and an end to punitive transfers.
However, the third recognized union in KSRTC namely the Kerala State Road Transport Employees Association (KSRTEA) complained that the strike was politically motivated and that the CMD had already given an assurance that orders for three installments of DA would be issued on March 1.
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