TNSTC Villupuram, Salem to recruit staff on contract basis
As per the tender documents, TNSTC Villupuram plans to engage 667 drivers and 724 conductors across its operational zones, including Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Tiruvallur.
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CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) Villupuram and Salem has issued separate tenders inviting experienced service providers to deploy drivers and conductors on contract to operate government bus services across the state and neighbouring states.
As per the tender documents, TNSTC Villupuram plans to engage 667 drivers and 724 conductors across its operational zones, including Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupathur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Tiruvallur. While the TNSTC Salem division plans to engage 142 drivers and 134 conductors through the service providers.
A senior transport department official said that engaging drivers on a contract basis was to ensure the operation of all the buses. Due to driver and conductor shortages, the operation of buses has been hit. The contract drivers and conductors would help operate all the buses, which in turn would help passengers, the official said.
The service providers should ensure that the drivers to be deployed should be aged between 24 and 48, have passed the minimum 8th standard. They should have a valid heavy transport license, a badge, and at least 18 months of driving experience. In case of the conductors, the persons should be 24–48 years old and have an SSLC pass, a valid conductor license, a first-aid certificate, and a public service badge.
K Arumugha Nainar, general secretary of the CITU-affiliated Tamil Nadu State Transport Employees Federation, said that the transport corporations have floated the tender to engage drivers and conductors through the agencies, even as the state transport minister assured that the appointment of the drivers and conductors on a contract basis is a temporary measure until the recruitment. “The appointment of drivers and conductors through manpower agencies is against the social justice principles. We demand the government fill the vacancies to ensure the operation of all the buses,” he demanded.
