Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Road Transport Employees' Joint Action Committee has withdrawn its proposed indefinite strike starting December 31 following an assurance by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to fulfil its long pending demands at the earliest.
Joint Action Committee's President Anant Subbarao announced the decision to withdraw the strike after a meeting with Siddaramaiah and Transport Minister Ramalingar Reddy on Sunday evening. In the meeting, Siddaramaiah reportedly assured to release Rs 2,000 crore to fulfil some of the demands of the employees of the road transport corporations after a discussion in the cabinet meeting scheduled next Thursday.
"The CM has assured us to hold a meeting with the representatives of the Joint Action Committee after January 15 besides assuring to fulfil our demands. We have therefore withdrawn our proposed strike," Subbarao told reporters after the meeting.
The RTC employees had decided to go on indefinite strike stopping operations of all government buses from December 30 night seeking fulfillment of their demands. Their demands included payment of salary arrears of Rs 1,785 crore which were due since 2020, settlement of Rs 2,900 crore provident fund dues, sanctioning of Rs 235 crore dearness allowance for retired RTC employees and providing cashless health insurance facility.
In Karnataka, four road transport corporations run by the government- Karnataka Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) and North-Western Road Transport Corporation (NWRTC) - collectively serve over 35 lakh people every day.
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