Drivers and conductors of State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) buses are discontent.
As many as 1,400 vacancies are to be filled they point out.
The staff shortage results in drivers and conductors working extra hours, which causes fatigue and could lead to accidents, they say. Many buses also stand idle in various depots of the corporation because of the manpower shortage.
“Drivers and conductors have not been recruited for the past 5 years causing staff shortage. When a driver or a conductor finishes his duty and is ready to go home after a tiresome long travel, officials ask them to continue working citing lack of staff,” says a CITU member.“Working overtime might earn us an additional `200 but it certainly will affect efficiency at the cost of the safety of the passengers,” he adds.
In 2006, the corporation recruited 1,400 drivers and conductors. After that several hundred drivers and conductors have retired. The staff are made to work without caring about the stress levels, complains a senior office bearer of CITU.
Of the workforce of 6,673 in the corporation, 4,500 are conductors and drivers. The fleet of 950 buses should have at least 1,400 additional drivers and conductors, points out a senior driver.“The requirement would grow to 1,800 at the end of the year. We appeal to the government to recruit drivers and conductors,” said the driver on condition of anonymity.
