האגודה הישראלית לחקר יחסי עבודה

in the history of transport corporations in the state, has atleast ensured that the employees’ deserving case was heard.

Though the employees demanded a 35 per cent hike, the government was not willing to give more than 8 per cent, but later offered 10 per cent.

A member of the KSRTC Staff and Workers Federation, said, “If we hadn’t agreed to  12.5 per cent now, we might have had to settle for a mere 8 per cent hike. This is because the Chief Minister is flying to Belgium to see his son who is sick. Then the transport minister would have asked us to report for duty keeping the decision pending till the CM returned. The unions would have agreed and the entire protest would have flopped. So we decided to accept the offer.”

According to a rough estimate calculated by Express, the salary of a probationary driver or a driver-cum-conductor in Bengaluru would increase from Rs 20,092 to Rs 22,603, an increase of Rs 2,511, while that of a driver or a driver-cum-conductor in Bengaluru with 33 years experience would increase from Rs 61,661 to Rs 69,370, an increase of Rs 7,709. Similarly, the salary of a probationary bus conductor in Bengaluru would go up from Rs 18,852 to Rs 21,208. And the salary of a bus conductor with 33 years experience from Rs 45,452 to Rs 51,133. 

“This is a meagre hike compared to the salary of the central government employees. We have raised several other issues including increasing incentives and reducing penalties but were not given any assurance,” said a bus conductor.

He admitted that there were differences among the union members on continuing the strike. “Some were worried after the government threatened to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act,” he said.

Sources said the government may consider increasing the bus fare to meet the additional financial burden of Rs 1,940 crore over the next four years due to the pay hike.

Happy that our voices have been heard: Driver

Bengaluru : Manjunath E, a BMTC driver, is elated as  the state government has finally agreed  for a 12.5 per cent wage hike instead of the earlier proposed 10 per cent. Manjunath has been working with the BMTC for 17 years now. He says, “I am happy that our hard work has paid off and our voices have been heard.” He explains how it was difficult to make both ends meet with his previous salary. “My salary was Rs 17,000 while my take-home pay was only Rs 10,000. And I pay Rs 3,800 as house rent. As soon as my landlord  came to know about the hike, he said he would increase the rent by Rs 1,000.” He adds: “I have two sons, aged 10 and four. I have to shell out Rs 2,000 towards their schooling. Then about Rs 7,000-8,000 is spent on food and other basic needs. Sometimes I am left with just Rs 1,000 or nothing.”  He says there are times when he has to borrow money from friends and relatives to manage the expenses. “A decent hike in  salary will really help us.” On the other demands like abolition of trainee system and pension, Manjunath feels the government should concede them. He says trainees are overworked and underpaid. “For two years I worked as a trainee driver and earned just Rs 2,000. But even as a trainee, we were made to work like a regular driver. Then for the next two years, we were on probation, earning just Rs 4,000. And it is high time the government gave us pension,” he says.