The High Court of Telangana directed the state government to hold discussions with the TSRTC employees unions on Saturday at 10.30 am after it took up the writ petitions filed pertaining to the strike. The TSRTC strike entered its 14th day on Friday, with over 48,000 people protesting.
The court also maintained that the people in interior agency areas are unable to access healthcare services due to the strike, and stated that the government and unions must resolve the matter within three days.
The court sought the government’s opinion on the state bandh call given by unions. Advocate General Ramchandra Rao represented the government.
Public transportation is in crisis in the state, and several political parties and other groups have supported the strike of the Joint Action Committee (comprising of multiple employee unions).
TSRTC JAC advocate Prakash Desai said that there was no response from the lawyers of the state government regarding discussions despite efforts from RTC employees. He also informed the High Court that the unions have never said that they will participate in discussions only if TSRTC is merged with the government. Merging the two is one of the demands of TSRTC employee unions.
The court then directed the TSRTC management to report back to it on October 28.
Earlier this week, the High Court also ordered the TSRTC management to pay salaries to all 49,190 employees for September, after one of the employees filed a petition. The government had initially refused topay salaries for the month of September to those who refused to join the TSRTC and continued to protest.
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan also intervened in the matter and called on Transport Minister P Ajay Kumar on Thursday to know the arrangements made to ease the difficulty caused to commuters due to the strike. The Governor's move came after a delegation of BJP leaders called on her to complain that the continuing strike and the government's failure to address the employees' issues was causing severe inconvenience to people.
Meanwhile, in another major development, the Transmission Corporation of Telangana Limited Joint Managing Director invited the Telangana Electricity Trade Unions Front (TETUF) of electricity employees for discussions on Saturday. Earlier this week, the electricity employees threatened to go on strike any day after October 23 over demands such as demanding regularisation of services for over 23,000 artisans in the Electricity department, implementation of the Revised Pension Rules 1980, and employment to the kin of artisans who were killed on duty. The TETUF had supported the TSRTC strike.