Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) intends to lay off 4,000 surplus employees in a desperate bid to cut corners owing to a financial crunch.
As per the plan, the layoff will be until the public transporter regains a semblance of fiscal health.
The Corporation will convey its plan to the Government soon. Further action depends on the response of the State Government.
The Government will take a call on the matter, Managing Director Biju Prabhakar, IAS, told the labour union leaders at a meeting.
The KSRTC management had earlier identified 4,000 surplus staff in its mechanical and conductor wings.
The Director Board wants them to be benched as the fiscal condition worsened, especially in the wake of the lockdowns and poor patronisation by the public in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even otherwise the Corporation has always been in the throes of the financial crisis, resulting in frequent delays in disbursing pensions and salaries. Often the Government intervened and advanced loans to tide over recurring fund crunch.
The employees who will be laid off will be given a small sum as solatium.
Predictably, the labour unions are opposing the layoff move. The three recognised trade unions are the Kerala State Transport Employees Association (affiliated to the CITU), the Transport Democratic Federation (of the INTUC) and the Kerala State Transport Employees Sangh (BMS).
No compassionate employment for now
The Director Board has also decided to temporarily do away with compassionate employment whereby dependents of deceased staff are recruited. The freeze will be until the fiscal situation improves.
The Board had lately given nod to 181 applications by such dependents.
The Board has realised that the KSRTC can't stay afloat without increasing non-ticket revenues.
