VIJAYAWADA: Owing to the financial crisis due to the lockdown, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) ousted around 7,600 contract and outsourced staff through oral instructions on Friday. A communication in this regard was given by RTC vice chairman and managing director M Pratap to all 126 bus depot managers in the state, asking them to inform the outsourced staff not to report for work anymore.

When contacted, a senior RTC official on condition of anonymity said that over the years, the Corporation stopped recruiting employees to fill vacancies created by the retirement of regular staff, but appointed 7,600 contract and outsourced staff. Most of them worked as typists and data-entry operators at civil engineering departments, hospitals and maintenance wings. Some worked at garages and bus stations as sweepers and attenders.

“Since the lockdown began on March 25, the Corporation suspended bus services. With this, the RTC could not pay the salaries of all outsourced staff for the month of April, and told them their services will be utilised again if needed,” the official said.

Unions cry foul, ask govt to revoke decision

A memo issued on the instructions of the VC and MD later in the day said outsourced employees to the extent of excess conductors and drivers will be withdrawn. Officials were told to remove notice boards of all unions, and to display the regulations (CC&A, and conduct etc.) communicated by the head office in Telugu on the notice boards. The staff were also directed to minimse the consumption of electricity.
The move to send home thousands of contract and outsourced employees triggered unrest among the employees’ unions, which denounced the management’s unilateral decision.

The APSRTC Employees Union, the only recognised union in the Corporation, wrote to Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah, asking him to revoke the RTC MD’s decision. “How can the higher authorities remove so many staff when there are orders from the Centre not to sack staff of private organisations due to lockdown. Regular RTC employees are being paid by the government since the merger with the Public Transport Department, while outsourced staff are being paid by the Corporation. But the outsourced staff also do some of the work of regular employees,” said the union’s general secretary P Damodar.

He added that the merger committee appointed by the state government under retired IPS C Anjaneya Reddy also said that the Corporation needs to fill 7,800 vacant posts, besides those of the 7,600 contract and outsourced staff. “Though the outsourced staff are paid meagre salaries, they perform their duties on a par with regular employees. We request the government to revoke the oral orders issued by the RTC MD, considering the plight of the families of the outsourced staff,” he said.