Thiruvananthapuram: In a path-breaking move, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has decided to introduce a single-duty system for employees. The system will be implemented initially on a trial basis at the Attingal and Kaniyapuram depots of the public carrier.
The decision was taken at a meeting convened by Biju Prabhakar, chairman and managing director of KSRTC who is also the Transport Secretary, on Saturday. Transport Minister Antony Raju also had recently hinted at the move.
Incidentally, employees’ unions in KSRTC had been opposing the move to introduce the single-duty system. Currently, a duty lasting 16 hours is considered as double-duty and the employees get an off from work the following day. But under the proposed single-duty arrangement, 12 hours would be taken as a single duty and the remaining four hours would be considered as extra work, for which employees are to be paid double the basic pay and dearness allowance. KSRTC management feels that employees would have no objections to the new arrangement.
According to the management, more services could be operated with the existing staff strength under the single-duty system. “Around 500 buses in various depots cannot conduct services because of the double-duty arrangement, when drivers and conductors get an off day after every 16-hours’ work,” said a senior KSRTC official.
When single-duty is implemented, employees would be eligible only for a weekly off when they work 12 hours a day.
