APSRTC women employees stage protest, seek redressal of pending issues

Women employees of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), under the banner of the RTC Women Workers’ Convening Committee, staged a protest demanding immediate resolution of their pending grievances, at Dharna Chowk in Vijayawada on Tuesday.

State convenor of the committee, Ch. Rajeshwari, said nearly 7,000 women were working in APSRTC as regular, contract, and outsourced staff, but their repeated representations to the management had gone unanswered. She said work pressure and discrimination had increased, particularly after the implementation of the ‘Stree Shakti’ free travel scheme, leading to physical and mental stress. She demanded a monthly special grievance day to address women employees’ concerns.

Shramika Mahila Convening Committee leader and CITU State secretary Dhanalakshmi said women workers were facing serious health issues due to excessive workload. Though the Stree Shakti scheme was meant to strengthen RTC, lack of additional buses and staff had increased the burden on women conductors and drivers, causing exhaustion, back pain and other health problems.

Co-convenor A. Seethalaxmi said while occupancy ratio (OR) had gone up under the scheme, running schedules had not been revised, resulting in delays and extended duty hours. She alleged that women staff were often forced to work overtime and they often returned home late at night, especially when buses break down or were stuck in traffic.

The protesting women demanded implementation of child care leave and monthly special leave, an end to ‘forced overtime’, improved restroom facilities, revised running schedules, formation of sexual harassment prevention committees, strict action against harassment of women conductors, duty concessions for women above 50 years, steps to ensure that their duties end before 9 p.m. and installation of conductor doors in all buses.

State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), V. Srinivasa Rao, criticised the alleged privatisation of depots under the pretext of introducing electric buses and demanded that the government address employees’ grievances without delay.

A memorandum was submitted to the APSRTC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director N. Balasubramanyam, urging the management to resolve the issues at the earliest.