No end to Odisha SRTC staff salary stalemate

BERHAMPUR: The district administration on Saturday failed to end the impasse over payment of pending salaries of Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) employees of Bhanjanagar zone who have been agitating for the last one month.

A meeting to resolve the issue was held at Bhanjanagar Sub-Collector’s office where the agitating employees were assured that they would be given their salaries for three months.

However, the employees rejected the offer as they have been demanding payment of salary for seven months.

They said the agitation would continue till a written assurance is given to them that all their pending dues would be cleared.

Around 90 employees of OSRTC, Bhanjanagar zone are participating in the strike following which the fleet of the State carrier in the district has remained off the road.

The OSRTC authorities had earlier issued a notification to shift 17 buses from the district to other units and this has aggravated the situation.

Several organisations, including the Bhanjanagar Bar Association, have expressed their solidarity with the agitating employees who had formed a co-ordination committee to press for their demand.

Last week, the leaders of the committee had met Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha and urged the latter to initiate measures for payment of pending salaries of the zonal staff.