Tamil Nadu transport workers complain of long duty hours, less facilities
Chennai: The transport workers have many other problems including their working conditions and duty timings, which create stress and ailments for them.
A driver, P. Balakrishnan belonging to South Chennai, said nearly 70 per cent of the buses are in a condemned state, causing lot of anxiety and stress for the drivers. The running time given for a trip has not been changed for the last 20 years, despite the change in the number of vehicles and population and the increase in traffic congestion.
Besides, the duty hours have increased to about 16 hours resulting in lack of rest and leading to ailments like blood pressure, sugar, tiredness and spinal chord problems. There were three shifts earlier, but the shift system is being done away with. Without increasing the facilities, the burden for drivers is being increased.
The conductors complained of poor working conditions including lack of rest rooms and toilet facilities. M. Ravi, a conductor in State Express Transport Corporation bus, said the toilet rooms are unclean and unhygienic and the conductors have to reach the work place three hours earlier than the duty time to prepare the chart. The travel time is more than eight hours, but conductors get just three hours of rest, he said and added that such difficulties should be sorted out.
Union leaders want govt to bear burden
Union leaders are of the opinion that the government should take over the burden of the transport corporations since the department is being run with a service motive.
“When a hospital or school is run, does the government get any benefit. Transport department too should be run without expecting profit”, K. Arumuga Nainar, general secretary, Transport Employees Federation affiliated to the CITU said.
Retirement benefit funds of employers amounting to '7,000 crores had been used for debts and this could not be done in any other government departments.
The subsidy announced by the government is not allocated every year and one-third of it is being given to the corporations.
“It is dangerous to operate condemned buses, but the government had not changed them, even if alerted”.
“The transport corporations were running on profit till 2001, but started operating on losses as the prices of diesel spiraled. Correspondingly the bus fares had not been increased. The diesel cost has gone up to Rs 20 per litre in 2001 to '67 per litre. But, the fares, which was 23 paise per km in 2001 had been increased only to 46 paise.”
