N Prasanna Kumar, president of the Karnataka State Road Transport Employees Association, told the media that the authorities had been forcing bus drivers and conductors to work beyond the stipulated eight hours and sometimes in both morning and night shifts, in violation of the Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961.

On lack of facilities, Kumar said: “Women conductors are forced to spend the nights at bus stands without adequate security. They end up sleeping inside the buses when they are on night shifts. Proper and clean urinals do not exist at bus depots for male and female workers.”

He also sought transparency in transfers.

“KSRTC makes transfers without the consent of its workers. There is corruption involved in the process. To reduce this, trainees should be given permanent jobs after serving for six months.”