Wait till Friday : KCR set to hammer out solution to RTC conundrum at marathon 2-day Cabinet meet

Hyderabad: The RTC employees who are now keen to join duties will have to wait till the weekend to know what fate awaits them.

A marathon two-day meeting of the state Cabinet has been convened by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday to find a permanent solution to the problem.

It is learnt that the Chief Minister has asked the officials concerned to prepare a bouquet of proposals which could be discussed at the Cabinet meeting.

He is understood to have told them that the proposals should address issues like attracting private investments without affecting the jobs of the RTC workers.

He also urged the Labour Commissioner to come out with its decisions before the two-week deadline fixed by the High Court comes to an end.

Sources indicate that in all probability, the Cabinet may give its nod to allow the employees to rejoin the duties but with certain conditions that they will not join any union or participate in strike in future.

It will also examine the possibility of offering voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) or compulsory retirement scheme for some employees so that it can forge ahead with its earlier decision to privatise some routes.

There is a possibility that those who are above 50 would be either given VRS or CRS. There are about 12,000 employees in the RTC who are above 50, it is learnt.

The Chief Minister is said to have told the officials to submit a detailed list of employees who are above 50. In case of VRS, the financial burden on the government could be more as compared to the compulsory retirement scheme.

Against this backdrop, the proposed Cabinet meeting assumes great importance.