The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation’s recognised union election has exposed a sharp split between unions backed by ruling Congress and CPI, with polling scheduled for October 9 across the corporation. The contest will determine the recognised union at the state level and representatives for 15 RTC regions, with nearly 36,000 employees eligible to vote.
Congress is supporting a coalition comprising the Telangana Workers’ Union, an independent organisation, and the Staff and Workers’ Federation affiliated with CITU. The coalition also includes the Ashwathama Reddy-led faction and the Congress-affiliated INTUC Staff and Workers Union.
Opposing them is a CPI-affiliated coalition consisting of the TSRTC Employees’ Union, linked to AITUC, the Thomas Reddy-led Telangana Mazdoor Union and the National Mazdoor Union. The contest has created an unusual division because Congress and CPI are alliance partners at the state and national levels, while their affiliated or supported unions are competing directly against each other in the RTC election.
CPI state secretary Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao criticised Congress for backing the independent Telangana Workers’ Union instead of its own INTUC-affiliated staff and workers’ union. He said the move was aimed at defeating the CPI-affiliated coalition led by the AITUC-backed TSRTC Employees’ Union.
Employees will receive two ballot papers during the election. One will be used to select the recognised union for the corporation as a whole, while the second will be used to elect the recognised union for the employee’s RTC region. Staff up to the rank of traffic inspector-II are eligible to vote, while employees above that rank cannot participate.
The election is being fought against the backdrop of several unresolved employment and administrative issues. These include the proposed merger of the RTC with the state government, implementation of the revised pay scales for 2025, payment of pending arrears from 2017 and 2021, and discussions between the management and unions on pending assurances and workloads.
The arrears at stake are estimated at more than Rs 1,500 crore. The outcome could therefore shape which union represents employees in negotiations over pay, service conditions and the implementation of commitments made by the management. It will also determine the bargaining structure for workers across the corporation’s regional units.
Polling and vote counting are scheduled for October 9. The formal announcement of the results will be made on October 17 after postal ballots have been counted.
