APSRTC proposes to remove outsourced and contract employees from service

Amaravati: Close to 6000 to 7000 outsourced and contract employees are asked to not to come to the employment in APSRTC, amidst the COVID19 pandemic. This development took place within months after merging the APSRTC employees into the State government and creating a separate department for that.

The office of VC and MD, APSRTC has instructed all field officers that, "In view of planning conductor-less operation for all buses, there will be excess conductors. They shall be redeployed at needy places duly withdrawing the outsourced employees to the extent of excess conductors available". He further instructed to utilize the services of regular drivers who are found excess in place of outsourced drivers who are being utilized for Badi bascule, light vehicles or parking duties duly withdrawing them to the extent of excess drivers available.

That means, the government has decided to oust the outsourced and contract employees, observed the APSRTC employees union leaders and outsourced employees, who are going to be affected badly with this decision.

Officials in the APSRTC informed that, during internal communication, the VC and MD observed that in wake of COVID19 pandemic, the organization has been facing a financial crisis. After optimum utilization of existing regular employees only we can look into engaging the outsourced or contract employees, this was a clear message from the higher authorities, according to sources.

Condemning removal of employees, the APSRTC Employees' Union stated that it was against the instructions of the union government. Valisetti Damodar Rao, General Secretary of the Union stated in a memorandum to Minister for Transportation Perni Nani that, the union government clearly mentioned in its guidelines that no employee should be removed from the service in both private and public organizations because of financial problems during the COVID19 related lockdown period. It maintained that at least 7,500 families will be on streets with this single decision of the APSRTC management. The government did not even release the salaries of these employees for the month of April. He further said that still there are 7800 vacancies in the APSRTC, which are needed to be filled.

KVS Narasimha Rao, Krishna district president, PTD-YSR Employees Association also condemned the proposal for removal of the outsourced and contract employees, on the name of financial problems during the corona pandemic.