Thiruvananthapuram: Even after the trade unions announced that mechanical division employees of KSRTC had called it off, a section of employees was going ahead with the strike against the implementation of ‘single duty’. They say the mechanical staff would have to do more night duty. However, KSRTC MD M.G. Rajamanickam warned of strict action including dismissal if they intensify the strike. The decision to call it off was taken after the unions met with the transport minister Thomas Chandy on Tuesday.
Mr Chandy told reporters that they would not retract the decision to introduce single-duty. Apart from the three single-duty shifts, KSRTC has also introduced a 12-hour special duty from 7 pm to 7 am as there is more mechanical work during night hours. “The KSRTC has also decided to conduct all periodical maintenance during night time,” said Mr Chandy. The present 8 am to 2 pm, 2 pm to 8 pm and the 8 pm to 2 am shifts would continue and no employee would be required to do continuous night duty.
KSRTC services were disrupted in many districts including Thiruvananthapuram because of the strike. The long-distance services hit the most. Because of the strike, KSRTC is unable to roll out buses for services. Services in some of the depots have come to a complete halt. The strike has severely hit Thampanoor depot, stopping many long-distance services. The strike has also severely affected Kaniyapuram depot. The staff resorted to strike on Tuesday after the KSRTC decided to do away with the double duty system, following Sushil Khanna report. The single duty system was introduced to ensure that more staff is on duty during the night time when the workload is high.
