In response to a request from the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) for Rs 65 crore to disburse the pending salaries of employees, the Finance Department of Kerala state has granted Rs 30 crore to KSRTC.
This is in addition to the amount of Rs 30 crore granted in May, which at the time was insufficient to clear all of the pending salaries. However, there is no information yet on when or whether the remaining amount will be given or approved.
The employee unions had threatened a stir if they failed to receive their pending salaries by the 5th of June 2022. And they are now demanding that the management share with them the recommendations made by the Sushil Khanna committee, that was formed especially for the purpose of coming up with a suitable strategy to rescue KSRTC from the financial crisis it is stuck in. The employees have indicated that they are open to the suggestions made by the Committee.
An indefinite strike has been launched by the Transport Democratic Federation (TDF). The unions feel that the state government is trying to pressurise KSRTC into shutting down for good.
The disgruntled employees have raised their voice against the management that refuses to disburse salaries before fulfilling the monthly expenses / liabilities. Given the fact that KSRTC earned about Rs 193 crore in revenue in May, and has also received financial assistance from the state government, the employees feel that the delay in salary disbursal is unjustified.
