RTC strike ends at last

VIJAYWADA: It was a joyous occasion for employees of the APSRTC when the government agreed to extend 43 per cent fitment benefit to them, thereby bringing their eight-day long strike to an end.
The development also led to commuters at the Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) heaving a collective sigh of relief on Wednesday.
Employees affiliated to RTC unions were seen dancing to the drum beats at several major bus stations in the district soon after the strike was called off.
“As a representative of the workers, this is a great moment of pride as our main demand has been met. We’re thankful to all the people and various organisations for standing by us at this critical juncture and bringing this to its logical end,” said Venkateshwar Rao, secretary of the RTC Employees Union.
B D R Reddy, the regional secretary of the Staff and Workers Federation, claimed that theirs has been a long struggle. “It is always good to see such things come to a satisfactory conclusion. Many of our drivers have already returned to work and buses have started plying already. By tomorrow, the RTC will be in full force once again,” Reddy said.
It wasn’t just a moment of rejoicing for the unions. The commuters, who had been left at the mercy of share autos and private buses for over a week, were also happy.
“It is good to know I will not have to shell out extra money any longer on my transport. Such instances just tell us how important RTC buses are to us,” said a commuter at PNBS.
Officials too were glad that the period of uncertainty was over. “It is good to see an agreement being reached. Already 85 to 90 per cent buses are plying. Long distance routes to Hyderabad and Visakhptanam are full for Wednesday night,” said RTC Executive Director R Nagaraju.
Earlier, 1,200 buses in Krishna district went off the roads leading to chaos. Despite the RTC using hired buses and temporary drivers, only 40 per cent of the services plied over the past few days.