TSRTC strike: Employees unions willing to sit for talks once

A day after talks between the TSRTC management and unions over various demands failed to achieve a breakthrough, the agitating employees on Sunday expressed willingness to come for talks again before October 28.

Blaming the RTC management for the failure of talks held on Saturday, employees union's leader Aswathama Reddy said they were willing to sit on the negotiating table anytime before the court hearing.

"We are willing to come for discussions any time before the court time tomorrow. We are ready even today.. The IAS officers, who were part of the state government team engaged in discussions, should not spread misinformation that we left half way through the talks," Reddy told reporters here.

The Telangana High Court had earlier directed the government and the agitating employees to sit for parleys ad find a solution to the matter and submit a report on October 28.

After the talks on Saturday, RTC Managing Director Sunil Sharma had said the Telangana High Court had directed that 21 demands of employees should be discussed, but the unions wanted discussion on all their grievances, including merger of RTC with the government, which was not acceptable.

He had said they requested the union leaders to discuss the 21 demands, but the latter did not agree to it and went outside the venue to hold discussions with other union leaders.

The management waited till 6.30 PM for the leaders to return, but they did not turn up, he had said.

Aswathama Reddy also alleged that they were not allowed to carry their cellphones to the venue.

"These cannot be called talks," he had said.

Meanwhile, the strike by various unions of the RTC entered 23rd day, leaving lakhs of commuters in the lurch.

The indefinite fast by CPI's state Assistant Secretary K Sambasiva Rao at the party's office here in support of the strike by the RTC employees, entered the second day.

Rao told PTI that the hunger strike would continue until the government amicably resolves the employees' problems.

The indefinite strike by different employees and workers unions of the transport corporation began from October 5 across Telangana on a call by JAC of RTC, pressing a charter of demands including, merger of RTC with the government.