Trade unions call indefinite bus strike from May 20 over ‘unilateral’ pay revision

Bengaluru: Calling state govt’s revision of salaries of employees of road transport corporations ‘unilateral’ and ‘unacceptable,’ the joint action committee of trade unions of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation called for an indefinite bus strike from May 20 across the state.

Office-bearers of the joint action committee said the govt order, revising salary by 12.5% with effect from April 1, 2025, goes against the interests of employees. The trade unions have demanded the govt revise the order by increasing salary by 25% and make it effective from Jan 1, 2024.

They said on April 29, during a meeting with transport minister Ramalinga Reddy, the govt was urged to release salary arrears of 38 months and revise salaries with effect from Jan 1, 2024. They claimed the minister had assured that after discussing the issue with the chief minister, a final decision would be taken and another round of talks would be held with the unions. “However, on May 12, govt issued an order revising salary by 12.5% with effect from April 1, 2025. The decision has caused financial loss for employees and violates established norms of revising salaries that have been in practice for 40 to 50 years. We cannot tolerate this injustice,” the joint action committee said in a statement.

B Jayadevaraje Urs, convenor of the joint action committee, said, “The decision to revise salary from April 1, 2025 instead of Jan 1, 2024 has resulted in a financial loss for employees, who lost salary revision for more than a year. Also, as per the terms of the industrial agreement already in place, revision of RTC employees should be done every four years. But the recent govt order defies that.”