On Wednesday, a portion of the Hyderabad Metro Rail ticketing staff boycotted their duties for the second day in a row.
150 employees working at metro stations on the Red Line (Miyapur-L.B.Nagar) stayed away from work in protest of wage increases.
Later in the day, they intend to stage a sit-in at the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) office in Nagole.
The strike by Ticketing and Cash Management Officers (TCMOs) caused a disruption in offline ticketing services.
On Tuesday, striking employees protested at the busy Ameerpet station at the Red Line and Blue Line intersection. On Wednesday, the offline ticketing services remained unaffected.
Contract employees are paid around Rs 11,000 and have allegedly not received a pay raise in five years. They demanded that their pay be increased to at least Rs 15,000.
The striking employees also demanded free metro transportation for employees working night shifts, as well as at least 20 designated leave days in addition to regular weekly off days.
Mavin contracting agency representatives met with employees on Tuesday. They summoned the employees for another round of negotiating. The employees, on the other hand, have stated unequivocally that they will return to work only after their demands are met.
They stated that ticketing employees on the blue line, who are contracted through a different agency, are paid approximately Rs 15,000 per month.
The ticketing staff is also dissatisfied because they do not receive any benefits from the contracting agency or HMRL. Employees do not have access to free metro travel and are penalised if they are caught travelling without a ticket, in addition to the usual fine of Rs 110 collected from regular passengers for ticketless travel.
ALSO READ: Atheist’s remarks against Hindu Goddess, Bandh in Basar
Anjani Kumar takes over as new DGP of Telangana
The ticketing employees stated that they were having difficulties because relievers were not arriving on time and the officials concerned were not responding. They also claimed that they were not even given time for lunch
According to HMRL officials, a few ticketing employees from a contracting agency conspired and skipped work today with the intent of disrupting train operations and causing passenger inconvenience.
“They are also spreading rumours and misinformation out of vested interest. Their claims are false and their actions are highly against the public interest, which will call for stern action by the HMR management,” the HMR management said in a statement.
The management says that it is ensuring due facilities and benefits to staff.
(This story has been sourced from a third-party syndicated feed, agencies. Raavi Media accepts no responsibility or liability for the text’s dependability, trustworthiness, reliability, and data. Raavi Media management/ythisnews.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content at its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.)
