The threatened strike by HRTC bus drivers and conductors in Himachal Pradesh has been called off, but the moment it ended a bigger question surfaced: what happens now to the thousands of drivers the government had summoned for temporary recruitment at a daily wage of 1,500 rupees? Late in the evening, talks between the government and the employees' union produced an agreement and the planned strike was withdrawn, yet that very decision left thousands of jobless youths, who had turned up hoping for work, stranded midway.
A Three-Hour Meeting Seals the Deal
At the state secretariat in Shimla, union office-bearers met Additional Chief Secretary (Transport) RD Nazeem and Corporation Managing Director Nipun Jindal for nearly three hours. Several of the employees' demands were accepted, though not all of them. Man Singh Thakur, president of the drivers' association, said an agreement had been reached with the government, but some demands still remain unmet.
Over 9,000 Drivers Showed Up and Took the Trial
On Wednesday, the Sukhu government had called drivers in for temporary recruitment. Drawn by the offer of 1,500 rupees a day, more than 9,000 drivers reached the depots. Driving trials for 656 posts across the state's 31 depots were held after 12 noon. But by evening, once the strike itself was called off, all the hopes of these drivers who had appeared for interviews and trials came to nothing.
An applicant from Ashwani Khad in Solan said he had cleared the test and had spoken to the RM, Solan, about it. He was told the recruitment was temporary, for six months, and that he would be called only if needed. The applicant said he no longer believes he will be paid, since the strike is now over. Calling it a betrayal of the unemployed, he said he had come with great hopes but the Deputy CM had broken his promise, and demanded that the government issue him a joining letter. He added that after the recruitment he was given 750 rupees in the evening, and that he would now frame the money and keep it.
What the Drivers Got in the Settlement
- Pending medical bills worth 7.10 crore rupees will be paid.
- 1.5 crore rupees in cash within 10 days, and new uniforms within a month.
- Agreement to clear 12 months of overtime and night overtime soon.
- The matter of relaxing the option under the ACP scheme (4-9-14) will be taken up with the finance department.
- An assurance to place the 'Medi-person Act' issue before the government within 15 days.
- A review of special pay for drivers of 'Ride with Pride' and other light vehicles.
Man Singh Thakur said the government has agreed to cancel the recent transfers. It was also decided that pending dues will be paid in installments along with each month's salary. He stressed that the salary must reach them on the first of every month without fail. According to Thakur, the pending dues from the past year amount to around 35 crore rupees, which the government will pay. Transport Minister Mukesh Agnihotri too confirmed that HRTC's proposed strike had ended.
A Flood of Memes Online
The entire episode of recruitment at 1,500 rupees triggered a flood of memes on social media, with people taking sharp digs at the Sukhu government. Some users wrote that the drivers had retired even before joining. One jibe went that in this 'supersonic' government, for the first time someone landed a job in the day and retired by evening.
Meanwhile, outside the HRTC workshop in Solan on Wednesday, as drivers were being put through their trials, one driver rammed a bus into the gate. That incident too drew jokes online, that the 'trends' of the 1,500-rupee driver recruitment had begun to show. Rakesh Jamwal, the BJP MLA from Sundernagar, also took a swipe at the Sukhu government over the matter.
