ESMA fear brought more buses on roads

Fear of the Essential Services Maintenance Act and losing their jobs and life got in the way of BMTC employees who wanted to participate in the strike on Friday. The employees not having too many options decided to work on the day. The public transport situation in the city, although slightly improved from that of Thursday, still failed to resume normalcy. The BMTC management continued to threaten and cajole their employees into working.

When this failed, they also brought in private bus drivers and even put some of their lower ranking officials to work. Permanent drivers who had decided to work covered their faces and those who worked were abused by union members.

Less than 250 buses were on the city streets on Friday. Most of the drivers and conductors in buses were part of the training staff of the BMTC. Caught in a precarious situation, the training staff said they were threatened with suspensions, dismissal and extended training period if they did not attend work.

“We were sent notices and told of the consequences if we did not work. I have been working with the BMTC for about two years and I am a few months away from completing the training period. After working for two years with a salary of about Rs 4,000 per month, I am a few months away from being a permanent employee and getting a salary of Rs 13,000. One day of absence could turn these few months into six months or even a year. I couldn’t take the risk,” said a frustrated trainee driver of a Volvo bus along the Shivajinagar-Majestic route.

He added, “The decision was even more difficult for me because I know one of the reasons of the strike is to remove the training period and make us permanent employees. I know I am betraying the trust of my colleagues. But it was not really a choice for me.”
When most of the training staff did not turn up either, the BMTC looked at private bus drivers to help them out. The BMTC promised to pay Rs500 to private bus drivers if they operated buses from 10 am to 6 pm, said a bus driver with SRS Travels.

“I have no duty today as there are no trips. Since I drive buses any way, I thought it would not be a problem,” he said. As an after thought, he added, “I was wrong, it is stressful and frustrating to go up and down the same route and get stuck in traffic jams. Bus drivers don’t really have it easy. I can understand why they are protesting.”

Despite this, the shortage of staff was so huge that BMTC’s lower rank officials too were sent to the field as conductors. An official, working with the auditing department at the KR Puram depot was told by his depot manager when he went to the office in the morning that there was no point sitting in the office when there were no buses running at all. “I knew the situation in the city. When your depot manager tells you to be a conductor, you become one, whether you like it or not,” he said.

The few drivers who came to work had to bear the brunt of the crisis. “I have been operating this bus for the last eight hours. Although the depot managers asked me to work saying all they wanted was a few trips, this has gone way beyond that. Earlier I was afraid of attacks and stone pelting; now I am just tired. The depot managers won’t let me deposit my collections or go home. They say one more trip and send me on my way,” said another bus driver at the Shivajinagar bus stop.