Team Herald
MARGAO: The drivers of the Electric Vehicle (EV) buses of the Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) held a protest on Tuesday in Margao demanding a hike in their salary and that they be made permanent staff.
They met Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai to push forward with this demand, who assured them that he would raise this before the State government and KTC Chairman
Ulhas Tuenkar.
Sardesai hit out at the government for treating these bus drivers like bonded labourers and said
they should get job security, while also pointing out that they don’t get any job benefits either. This is why he said they need to be given a joining letter.
The MLA also pointed out that the salaries the EV drivers earn are less as compared to the salaries of
non-EV bus drivers and said the least the government could do was to see that their salaries are on par with the non-EV bus drivers.
Sardesai added that Goa needs more EV buses and that the Union Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari had also spoken about how the next
biggest challenge in the State is solving public transportation.
Sardesai added that EV buses would help solve this issue and need to be promoted.
He also criticised the decision
of the company managing the EV buses to advertise for jobs for EV drivers in Karnataka.