Published Apr 30, 2026 | 11:45 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 30, 2026 | 11:45 AM
Telangana RTC.
Synopsis: The recent strike by the Telangana RTC workers was resolved in three days after the Congress government in the state promised resolutions. However, the demands of RTC workers, which include fair compensation for their labour, improved workplace facilities, enforcement of government responsibility, and the smooth functioning of public transport, are far from resolved.
The fact that the talks have succeeded as early as the third day of the RTC workers’ strike, with the Telangana government “agreeing to all the major demands” and the strike coming to an end, is a welcome development from the perspective of passengers and the public’s transportation needs.
Unlike under the previous government in 2019, when the strike continued for fifty days, the present government may also feel satisfied that this time the strike ended on the third day itself. The media may even calculate that while nearly fifty lives were lost during the earlier strike, this time it ended with the loss of only one life.
However, have the issues that compelled Telangana RTC workers to go on strike really been resolved? Have answers been found to the broader, complex challenges facing the State Road Transport Corporation as a whole?
Also Read: After a suicide, Telangana government makes assurances to RTC staff
During the 2019 strike, I had written four articles over those fifty days under the column “Telanganartham” in another daily newspaper. Reading them again now, one finds little difference between 2019 and 2026 — in the aspirations of the workers, in the promises made by the government, in the government’s negligence in fulfilling those promises, or in the indifference of society.
The present strike was called after prolonged discussions with the management, and the government failed to resolve 31 demands. Consequently, the Joint Action Committee of trade unions had no option but to call for a strike from last Wednesday (22 April).
Ordinarily, when one union calls a strike, another tends to break it by continuing work, and governments are used to dividing workers. But this time, owing to the extraordinary unity of 40,000 workers, the strike on Wednesday and Thursday was completely successful. On Friday, discussions between the Cabinet Sub-Committee and union leaders led to some accommodation, and the unions agreed to the government’s assurances and withdrew the strike.
However, while reports suggested that the government had agreed to resolve three major demands immediately, the reality is somewhat different. Even among these three, the most important demand — merging RTC into the government — has only been deferred.
The government announced that a committee comprising ministers and officials would be formed, and that a decision would be announced on 2 June after the committee’s review.
Similarly, while expressing no objection to restoring trade unions and conducting elections for a recognised union, the government advised union leaders that a final decision would be taken after consultations with the management.
As for the third major demand — pending wage revisions for 2021 and 2025 — the unions demanded a 30 percent fitment, while the government began negotiations at five percent and settled at 11 percent. In effect, for an employee drawing a basic salary of ₹10,000, the unions sought an increase to ₹13,000, whereas the government started bargaining at ₹10,500 and ultimately settled at ₹11,000.
Thus, it cannot be said that even the three principal demands have been resolved in favour of the workers.
The demand to merge RTC with the government has existed for a long time. It was a central demand in the 2019 strike as well. Workers believe that if the corporation becomes part of the government, it would become the government’s immediate and unavoidable responsibility to resolve the issues plaguing the institution and its employees.
Such a move would ensure the corporation’s future and bring employees on par with government staff in terms of wages. Compared to government employees with similar service conditions, lesser workload, and better working environments, RTC workers earn significantly less — often only ₹10,000–15,000. This is a serious violation of the natural principle of “equal pay for equal work”.
Workers feel that if RTC is merged into the government, decision-making authority would rest fully with the government, making solutions easier and ensuring the institution’s survival.
In fact, this demand dates back to the Telangana statehood movement. At that time, leaders of the TRS (now BRS) promised to implement it. Since the promise remained unfulfilled until 2019, it became a major demand in that strike as well. Even during the subsequent four years in power, they failed to honour it.
The Congress also promised a merger in its 2018 and 2023 election manifestos, but after coming to power, it has been postponing the issue under one pretext or another. It cites the non-submission of a committee report as an excuse.
Now it proposes yet another committee and promises an announcement on 2 June after its review. If the matter is to be postponed until 2 June, there is no need for another committee; if a committee’s review is necessary, the 2 June deadline becomes meaningless. This suggests yet another attempt to mislead workers currently on strike.
The demand for the restoration of trade unions and elections for a recognised union is equally ambiguous. It is being argued that after the merger, RTC would become a government department, leaving no scope for trade unions, and that they would instead have to function as employee associations.
There is already a legal debate on whether an election to recognise an association could be held. Amidst this uncertainty, the government has left the matter unresolved by stating that a final decision will follow consultations with management.
The wage revision for RTC workers is, in fact, an explicit promise made in the Congress election manifesto. Having ignored it for over two and a half years, the government is now addressing it under strike pressure, and that too only nominally, with an 11 percent fitment.
Even among the remaining demands, it is unclear how many will remain unresolved and when workers’ dissatisfaction may flare up again. For instance, one demand is that “new buses should be purchased by the corporation to develop and modernise RTC.” To accept this demand, the government would need to fundamentally change its development model and approach.
At present, out of 9,300 buses operated by RTC, only 6,300 belong to the corporation; the rest are owned by private individuals, often those close to the ruling establishment, and are leased to RTC under government directions.
Meanwhile, more than half of RTC’s own buses are overaged, and a majority of them are not fit for operation. Drivers struggle to run them, causing inconvenience to passengers.
In Hyderabad alone, of the total 2,664 buses, nearly half — 1,195 — are over twelve years old. In recent years, the corporation has drastically reduced its own procurement of buses while steadily increasing the proportion of leased buses from private owners. In such a situation, it is doubtful whether the government will accept the unions’ demand.
Another demand is that electric buses should be purchased by the government and provided to the RTC. Currently, nearly a thousand electric buses operated by RTC in the state belong to a private company, Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited.
There are also numerous owners of around two thousand diesel buses. In reality, for several years now, RTC has stopped purchasing its own buses and instead leases buses from private companies, operates and maintains them, and channels enormous amounts of public funds to these private owners.
Also Read: Telangana RTC strike — Not all issues require same reactions
Another demand is that the government should take over RTC’s debts, reimburse concession-related dues regularly, and allocate three percent of the annual budget for the corporation’s development. The current debt burden is said to be ₹6,300 crore.
If the government promptly clears reimbursements due for concessions extended to various sections and pending dues to staff, this debt burden would substantially reduce. However, the government has not done so.
Allocating three percent of the budget would amount to roughly ₹10,000 crore, yet the latest budget has made no specific allocation for RTC. It is unclear how much of the funds allocated to the transport or infrastructure sectors will reach RTC. Even funds due under schemes like Mahalakshmi and other concessions are not being released on time.
Another demand is the withdrawal of police cases filed against RTC employees during the 2019 strike. This means that for seven years, many workers have been living under the threat of cases for having fought for their legitimate rights. Even during the recent strike, police excesses continued — lathi charges, confiscation of workers’ cooking utensils, and restrictions imposed on tent houses to prevent them from providing shelter for protests in the scorching heat.
Overall, the demands of RTC workers include fair compensation for their labour, improved workplace facilities, enforcement of government responsibility, and the smooth functioning of public transport — demands that are directly linked to public life.
They expose the irregularities in a crucial sector of the state’s economy — the public transport system — and call for their rectification.
The RTC does not belong merely to its employees or workers. It belongs to the 6–6.5 million people who use its services daily. In essence, it belongs to Telangana society as a whole.
It is the responsibility of that society to examine and oversee how its assets are being managed or mismanaged, and to question the government on why these problems are not being resolved.
(Views are personal.)
