Rs 5,000-crore salary hike package for MSRTC staff

However, the employees don’t seem to be happy with the proposed hike. (File photo)

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) on Friday announced a salary hike of almost Rs 5,000 crore for its one lakh employees over the next four years. At the same time, it asked its employees to agree to the revised fare hike by June 7, else MSRTC will adpot a contract system for the staff.

In Diwali last year, the employees had staged a four-day strike, affecting lakhs of passengers. The transport body has hiked dearness allowance (DA) of its employees to Rs 1,200 from Rs 180. It has also offered to increase allowances for uniforms and night shifts. “We will face an additional loss of Rs 176 crore but to ensure decent pay to employees, we are introducing a decent hike,” said Diwakar Raote, Transport Minister.

If the employees have to be paid on contractual basis, they will get a monthly remuneration of Rs 19,000 (conductor) and Rs 20,000 (driver) with an increase of Rs 200 every year on a five-year contract basis.

However, the employees don’t seem to be happy with the proposed hike. A senior ST employee said, “We are not completely satisfied. It is not what we had asked for. We will approach the state government and demand more.”