The State government has released funds to pay the salaries of employees of the Road Transport Corporations (RTCs), but with many riders.
The government has released a total of ₹325 crore to pay salaries for April and May. The order issued on Monday states that ₹81.25 crore has been released for April and ₹243.75 crore for May.
A senior official of the KSRTC told The Hindu that as the employees went on a 15 days strike in April, the government has released funds for the remaining 15 days. “As per the no work no pay policy, those employees who had taken part in the strike will not get salaries for 15 days. Rest will get a full month's salary for the month of April.”
The employees of the four corporations associated with Karnataka State Road Transport Employees League went on strike from April 7 to April 21. The officials had claimed the strike resulted in revenue loss of ₹20 crore per day.
In the last week of April, the Corporations had requested the state government to release ₹975 crore to pay salaries of the staff from April to June. The RTCs have been badly hit by the strike and lockdown guidelines to contain the spread of the COVID-19. After the imposition of lockdown, the Corporations are running only a few buses for the benefit of people carrying out essential services.
Conditions apply
While releasing funds to the Corporations, the government has imposed several conditions. The order states that for the next academic year, if RTCs issue concessional student passes, cost should be borne by students and the Corporations and government will not provide any financial assistance. The Corporations have been told not procure new buses till further orders and minimize maintenance cost of buses. The state government has also asked RTCs not to pay overtime and other allowances to the employees, cut down expenditure on unnecessary posts and not take up projects investing funds of the state government or Corporations’ own funds.
