When P S Suma and S Sheela retired from the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Sunday, it marked the end of the beginning of a new era in the state's labour history.
The two were among the 10 women appointed as conductors in the state-owned transport company for the first time in its 82-year history.
The women, recruited through a special notification, were appointed by the then Transport Minister R Balakrishna Pillai on July 1, 1992.
Though all of them were appointed the same day, Suma could be technically called the first woman conductor as the minister handed the ticket holder to her to mark their induction. Suma had won the first rank among the 300 women applied for the job.
“We were selected through a special recruitment drive. Until then, women were not allowed to apply for the conductor's job,” Suma, who is a native of Edappariyaram, Elanthoor in Pathanamthitta, told Onmanorama.
Both Suma and Sheela had their first posting in Thiruvananthapuram and they have been settled in the capital city since then.
“We were given a six-day training at the corporation's centre at Pappanamcode before beginning duty. My husband had accompanied me in my first trip. Our first day on the job was covered well by newspapers and Doordarshan,” Suma said.
Suma had left the job of a clerk in the Government Employees' Cooperative Bank in Pathanamthitta to become a conductor.
A post-graduate in Commerce, Suma does not regret her decision at all. “I still remember what Minister Balakrishna Pillai had told us during our induction. He told us that if we quit the job soon, the women of the state would lose a new job sector. If we stayed, it would open a new avenue to the women,” Suma said.
The corporation too was not confident about how long the women would continue in the job. Hence the new joinees were given a three-year contract in the beginning, which was renewed for three consecutive terms before making their job permanent in 2001.
Good support
Both Suma and Sheela acknowledged the support they got from their families and colleagues in the initial days.
“Plenty of people both in and outside of the corporation had supported me, but there were a few who said women becoming bus conductors was a sign of 'Kalikalam' (Doom's Day),” Suma, whose first service was to Vellaikadavu, said.
Sheela had many confusions during her first service to PTP Nagar. “But everything fell in place quickly,” she said.
While Sheela said she worked without any trouble, Suma had an eventful career.
“I must say I have not faced any disturbance from a single passenger. They were all decent to me. But I have had to face situations where passengers disturbed fellow women passengers. I had to take thieves as well as molesters to the police,” she said.
She narrated a particular incident when a man who had claimed to be a retired police officer abused a primary schoolgirl on the bus. “I had to throw that man outside. He threatened me saying he was a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, which was true. After that day's job, I met the parents of the girl and told them about the incident. They did not want to go for a police case,” she said.
She also met with a major accident in 1997 when the bus overturned at Maruthakuzhi in Thiruvananthapuram. “I was in a shock, but the local people rushed to my help and consoled me. Luckily, there were no casualties, but many suffered injuries.”
Suma was active in trade union activities too. She became the state committee member of left-leaning Kerala State Road Transport Employees Association (KSRTEA) and also worked as the district convenor of the Working Women's Union.
Suma stays in Thiruvananthapuram with her husband K Gopi, a retired panchayat secretary and her daughter, a BTech student. Her son works with the Bank of America in Mumbai.
Sheela, a native of Thekkumbhagom in Chavara in Kollam district, is settled at Vattiyoorkavu with her two sons, a physiotherapist and an employee at the state agriculture department. Her husband M B Shaji died earlier.
No promotion
Both Suma and Sheela did not get promotions as they were appointed on contract initially. Certain service rules also came in their way up the job hierarchy.
Asked about the financial crisis plaguing the KSRTC for long, Suma attributed the losses to the corporation's unavoidable expenses. “KSRTC is slowly moving towards self-reliability because of various government interventions. But then the coronavirus crisis struck it,” she said.
Suma had her last day at work on May 20. She has only a piece of advice for the women in the field and those who would join in future. “Think positively and work with a smile. I learned it from R Sreelekha IPS during our training. I followed it throughout my career. I also ignored unnecessary comments with contempt,” she said.
Women conductors
Of the first 10 women conductors, two are still in service. While two others, including a tribal woman, were appointed teachers later, the rest were terminated for various reasons.
After the special recruitment in 1992, the corporation recruited women as conductors the next year for posts reserved for the heirs of those died while at service. From 1994, all the recruitment became open for both men and women. Now, there are over 400 women conductors in KSRTC. “Even in the latest rank list, 60 per cent of those who have been issued appointment memos are women. Of course, it's a job that causes physical strain, but we can do that,” Suma said.
