RTC JAC to hold protests on July 7-8 as talks with government fail

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has announced that the ‘RTC Protection Day’ protests, scheduled for July 7 and 8, will go ahead as planned.

The JAC met APSRTC management, including the company’s vice-chairman and managing director N. Balasubrahmanyam, executive directors and others to discuss their demands at RTC House on Monday. Their demands included the withdrawal of the proposal to hand over the operation of electric buses to private entities, an increase in the number of buses, and immediate recruitment to fill vacant positions.

Addressing the media after the meeting, JAC leaders pointed out that they had not received an assurance from the state government that the maintenance, purchase and operation of electric buses would remain under the control of APSRTC. The protests will therefore go ahead as planned, they said, adding that staff will wear “badges on demand” on duty.

JAC conveners Y. Srinivasa Rao and P. Damodara Rao expressed their disappointment over the outcome of the meeting and said the protests would intensify if the government and management did not respond positively to their demands.

Along with its key demands, the JAC also highlighted the problems faced by the workers, including delays in payment of wages to outsourced workers, administrative problems at depots, increasing workload due to shortage of staff and problems faced by workers and women commuters under the ‘Stree Shakti’ scheme.

According to a JAC press release, the APSRTC management assured them that matters requiring government intervention would be brought up to the state government, while those falling within the purview of the management would be discussed later.

Published – 06 Jul 2026 21:19 IST