HC Directs Govt To Start Talks With TSRTC Agitators Immediately

Hyderabad: A petition filed in the Telangana High Court came for hearing today on Tuesday and the HC bench directed the State government to conduct talks with the agitating RTC unions immediately and submit a detailed report on the issue by 18th of October.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Raghvendra S Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy, hearing a batch of petitions on the strike, said the standoff was causing hardship to the public. The state government cannot ignore the inconvenience caused to the public, the court said.

The chief justice advised the government to appoint a permanent managing director for the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) as a prelude to open a debate with workers even as he opined that the present crisis should be resolved within the parameters of Industrial Disputes Act.

Counsel for the corporation informed the court that the government was in no mood to go for conciliation as Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had declared that many of the striking employees were deemed to have been dismissed from their service. In such a scenario, it would not be possible nor advisable for the court to ask only the workers to call off the strike as a precondition for negotiations, the counsel said.

To this, the chief justice said he too has read the news reports and that such utterances should be taken as once made during a heated exchange of words. He also expressed agony over the suicide committed by the employees and said the strike left indelible scars in the mind of the workers.

The chief justice advised the workers to show a sense of accommodation to have the discussions with the government.

The division bench adjourned the matter to October 18 with a direction to both the parties to inform the court about the steps taken by them towards resolving the issue.

To this, TSRTC-JAC (joint action committee) leader E Ashwathama Reddy said they were ready to hold talks with the government provided the unions were invited, until then the strike would go on.

The High Court had described the report presented by the State government on the ongoing strike by TSRTC employees as vague, instructed it to come up with a detailed one within two days.

As part of its directions the HC directed the Government to appoint a Managing Director immediately and come with a "good news" by the 18th of this month.

The High Court also questioned the Government as to what measures it had taken for alleviating the problems faced by the people and it was only through mediation and talks that any kind of issue can be resolved, it stated in its observations.

Taking serious note, the High Court questioned as to why holidays were extended despite the government's claims of running buses in the state.

The HC Bench also advised the TSRTC Unions and workers to end the strike immediately and the Government should invite them for talks.

The additional AG informed the Court that its directions would be conveyed to the Government, the Court also directed the Counsel to let it know as to what decisions the Government would take about the entire issue and adjourned the matter for the 18th of October.

Also Read: TSRTC Strike Intensifies After The Death of Two Employees