The delay in the release of the Government Orders pertaining to the implementation of the 11 th Pay Revision Commission (PRC) recommendations has become a cause of worry for the employees of the Public Transport Department (PTD-APSRTC) .
“The 52,000-odd employees of the public transport sector are growing restive due to the inordinate delay in issue of the promised G.O. We expected the implementation of the new PRC in our May salaries. As the G.O. is taking time, its execution will be delayed further,” says P. Damodara Rao, convenor of the PTD Employees Joint Action Committee (JAC).
The JAC has been insisting that it is imperative to release the G.O. and put to rest the apprehensions of the employees. “Even after being officially declared as government employees, the APSRTC staff and workers have been losing many benefits as the discrepancies in the salaries have not been taken care of yet,” said JAC convenor Y.V. Rao.
The employees are cross over the fact that they have not been fully paid the arrears of 2017 PRC, besides the pending leave encashment. The JAC leaders are not happy with the “lukewarm” response of the management to the list of their 45 demands. In a recent letter addressed to the Chief Secretary, they urged the government to address the issues.
Officials in the Corporation, meanwhile, attribute the delay to the ‘scale and cadre fixation’ issue. “The PTD was created by merging the APSRTC with the government. Since it is a newly-formed department, the government has to match the scales and cadres of the RTC with the government scales and cadres. The Finance Department is on the job and a G.O. is expected any moment,” said an official of the Corporation.
Ashutosh Misra report
The JAC leaders dispute the contention saying that the employees are aware of the ‘very nominal’ hike. “Moreover, the Ashutosh Misra report on the PRC has clearly defined the specific scales for specific cadres. Any confusion on this front is uncalled for,” argue the JAC leaders.
They said any further delay in implementation of the new pay scales for the employees would force them to adopt the ‘path of confrontation’.
It may be recalled that leaders of 10 different unions in the APSRTC had extended their support to the PRC Struggle Committee that intended to go an indefinite strike in support of its demand for implementation of the recommendations.
