The State government has appealed to representatives of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation’s (TSRTC) unions to rethink their plans to go on indefinite strike from June 11, asserting that it would positively address the concerns raised by the employees.
The prospects of the debt-ridden TSRTC would be further compounded if the employees went ahead with their plans to go on strike. Transport Minister P. Mahender Reddy, who held preliminary discussions with representatives of the RTC unions led by the majority union Telangana Mazdoor Sangh, asked them to hold discussions with the three-member Cabinet sub-committee constituted to examine their requests rather than going on strike, which would inconvenience people.
The talks, however, remained inconclusive as the RTC unions told the Minister that they would discuss the government’s proposal and respond on Saturday. The Minister explained to the unions the financial difficulties faced by the corporation, which was saddled by accumulated debts of ₹3,000 crore and was paying interest to the tune of ₹250 crore annually.
This was in addition to ₹700 crore losses incurred by the corporation every year. Less than a dozen of the total 97 depots were running in profits and 54 depots were near the point of turning profitable after the efforts initiated by the government.