Transport minister A K Saseendran said the state government would explore the option of appointing “experienced drivers” on a daily wage basis to overcome the crisis of staff shortage that has hit the KSRTC hard after 2,358 temporary/empanelled drivers were thrown out of their jobs on October 3 in the wake of a High Court order.
“There is a Supreme Court verdict that sanctions the use of workers on daily wage,” the minister said after a high-level meeting here on Friday to find a way out of the stalemate. He said the KSRTC managing director had been asked to draw up a legally tenable proposal to appoint experienced drivers on a daily basis on the strength of the Supreme Court verdict. “We need additional drivers especially on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays when the demand is high. This report will be handed over to the High Court,” the minister said. “The court has given an order and a solution to this crisis can also come only from the court,” he said.
Mass cancellation of services
With 2,358 drivers terminated, official sources said the KSRTC was left with just about 11,000 drivers to operate nearly 5,200 daily schedules. Result: Hundreds of services were cancelled across the state on October 3. Official estimates say only 580 services were cancelled. However, unofficial KSRTC figures say at least 800 services were cut for want of drivers.
It was by overworking the remaining drivers, asking them to do double duty, that the KSRTC had managed to operate even the limited schedules it ran on October 3. Since drivers who had done double duty were not expected to turn up for duty the next day, a bigger crisis was anticipated on Friday. The transport minister but said on Friday that the crisis was not as intense as on October 3.
However, sources in the KSRTC headquarters said nearly 700 services were cancelled across the state by noon on Friday. Southern Kerala was the worst affected with nearly 280 services cut.
Second mass dismissal
The mass termination on October 3 was the second such event this year. On July 1, empanelled drivers were asked to quit their jobs on the basis of an April 8 order of the High Court. They were supposed to be removed by April 30 but the government delayed taking action till the Supreme Court cracked the whip. Then, too, nearly 600 services were affected.
The High Court order was issued on a petition filed by the Association of KSRTC Reserve Driver and Conductor Rank Holders. The court had mandated that empanelled workers who had been in service for 179 days should be replaced by candidates from the rank list of the Public Service Commission.
Redundant rank lists
The KSRTC's contention was that the PSC rank list for both drivers and conductors had lapsed. However, the KSRTC had earlier issued advice memos to 4,000-odd conductors from the list that had lapsed. After the mass dismissal, the corporation had no choice but to appoint candidates who were issued advice memos as conductors to replace the vacancies. Nearly 1,500 candidates took up the conductor posts in July.
On the other hand, no such advice was issued for drivers and therefore none from the redundant PSC rank list were called to take up the positions vacated by the empanelled drivers. The KSRTC had also taken the stand that it did not have the financial health to offer permanent jobs.
In fact, the PSC had conducted a test for drivers in 2015 and had even drawn up a shortlist of candidates in 2016. However, no further steps, like the driving test, were taken following objections raised by the KSRTC. Also, the test was not conducted on the basis of vacancies reported by the KSRTC.
Given the circumstances, the corporation recalled the dismissed drivers and once again appointed them on a temporary basis.
The rank holders' association recently challenged this in the court saying that the temporary drivers had been in service for more than 179 days. The High Court promptly asked the KSRTC to terminate the 2,358 drivers who had crossed 179 days in service, leading to the October 3 mass termination.
