Published Apr 21, 2026 | 11:12 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 21, 2026 | 11:14 PM
The strike will begin at midnight on 21 April.
Synopsis: Telangana RTC unions will begin an indefinite strike from midnight on 21 April after talks with the state government over long-pending demands, including regularisation and payment of dues, failed. Unions rejected the government’s request for four weeks to review the demands, saying the issues are not new. They said the strike will continue until all demands are met.
Unions of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) have announced an indefinite strike from midnight on Tuesday, 21 April, after talks between the state government and the TGSRTC Joint Action Committee (JAC) over long-pending demands failed to yield a resolution.
The demands include implementation of all promises made to RTC employees in the Congress 2023 manifesto, merger of RTC staff into government service, and clearance of pending dues, arrears and retiree benefits.
The government set up a four-member committee and asked for four weeks to examine the demands. The panel is headed by the Special Chief Secretary, Transport, Roads and Buildings Department. It includes the Special Chief Secretary (Labour), the Principal Secretary (Finance), and the Vice Chairman and Managing Director of TGSRTC.
The strike will begin at midnight, so bus services across Telangana are likely to be severely affected.
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The RTC JAC held more than four hours of talks with a committee of senior IAS officers at the Secretariat. Officials urged unions to defer the strike and give the newly formed panel time to study their demands and submit recommendations.
Union leaders rejected the proposal, saying their demands are not new and successive governments had already assured them. RTC JAC Chairman Venkanna said the agitation had become unavoidable and will continue until all 32 demands are met.
Key demands of RTC employees include:
Unions also opposed the alleged attempts at privatisation, especially the proposed induction of private electric buses in the Greater Hyderabad zone and the shifting of RTC buses to districts.
The standoff revives memories of the 52-day RTC strike in October 2019 under the Bharat Rashtra Samithi government, one of the longest labour agitations in the state.
Then Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had warned that employees who failed to resume duties would be treated as having dismissed themselves, which led to widespread political and labour unrest. The strike severely disrupted transport services, and more than 50 RTC workers were reported to have died during the agitation.
Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the government remains open to dialogue and urged unions to place their concerns before the committee instead of proceeding with the strike.
He said nearly 65 lakh passengers depend on TGSRTC services each day, especially in rural areas and among economically weaker sections. The government, he said, is committed to safeguarding employee welfare and passenger convenience while strengthening the corporation.
The government has decided to arrange private vehicles within GHMC limits as an alternative, and to deploy private drivers and vehicles at depots across the state.
Y Nagireddy, Managing Director of TSRTC, said in a statement on Tuesday, “certain unions are disregarding the actual facts, calling for a strike, and thereby misleading the workers.”
He urged workers not to “succumb to such provocations but to keep the Corporation’s interests in mind, report for duty, and cooperate with the government.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Sumit Jha)
