RTC staff to hold dharna outside CM's residence on April 15

Bengaluru: The Joint Action Committee of the Trade Unions of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation announced on Monday said that it would hold a dharna outside the official residence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah from 11 am to 5 pm on April 15. 

The demonstration is to protest the "lack of response" from the chief minister on holding talks on employees' long-pending demands. 

The committee consists of six employees' unions of RTCs in Karnataka. It had called an indefinite strike on December 31, 2024, but put it off following talks with Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy. 

Reddy had stated that the chief minister would convene a meeting after Sankranti to address their demands. 

On Tuesday, the committee's HV Anantha Subbarao lamented that the meeting was yet to happen even two months after Sankranti. 

Pointing out that the RTCs' financial condition had stabilised after bus fares were increased by 15% on January 6, 2025, Subbarao urged the government to address the employees' demands. 

These include a pay hike with effect from January 1, 2024, payment of Rs 1,785 crore in arrears for 38 months (January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2023), an increase in daily allowance, scientific revision of Form 4, and extending the cash-free medical treatment scheme to all RTCs.