PRTC contractual workers seek overtime allowance

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 28

The contract workers of the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) are a perturbed lot as the authorities concerned have not cleared their outstanding dues running into crores of rupees from January to July 2017.

Drivers and conductors working with the PRTC on a contract basis depend largely on overtime payments to make ends meet as their salaries are not good enough to afford household expenses.

The salary of a conductor is Rs 8,016 and that of a driver Rs 8,900 as against Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 received by regular employees of the PRTC.

It is pertinent to mention here that there are a total of 436 contract workers employed with the Bathinda depot of the PRTC, of which 134 is directly recruited by the PRTC on a contract basis. Besides, 302 contract workers have been hired through a private company.

The contract workers alleged that time and again they wrote to PRTC senior officials to clear their overtime pending dues, but in vain.

A conductor, pleading anonymity, said, “They are totally dependent on overtime allowance given by the PRTC which assist us meeting our daily expenses. But, the PRTC management is treating them like outsiders.”

He further said even the authorities concerned had not provided a single Class IV employee for the cleaning of buses. They were made to spend Rs 20 per day from their own pockets to clean the buses.

If any contract worker raised their voice against the PRTC management, they were fired from their services, he added.

When contacted, Parveen Kumar, general manager, PRTC, said, “We have forwarded their demand to the PRTC head office in Patiala. Their last year overtime dues will be cleared soon.”

He said since my joining the Bathinda depot they had given overtime allowances to all contact workers on a regular basis.”