SETC union demands reopening of closed rest house at Tiruchy

According to the Union members, the government has reportedly shut down a two-storeyed building which has a facility to accommodate 200 persons at a time. The facility is located near the SETC Tiruchy depot. The depot remained as a bus stage for changing crew members, who would have clocked 8 hours of work when reached the junction, in accordance with the mandated labour law.The distance from Chennai – Tiruchy is 365 km and Tiruchy to Kanyakumari is 350 km. Based on this, a stage was put up in Trichy junction. 

The Vice-President of CITU attached to SETC, S Natarajan, said, “Owing to new arrangement, the crew is working non-stop for 20 hours continuously. 

After closing the facility, the workers have no place to take adequate rest before resuming their journey. They are forced to continue their journey given the situation.” While the union claims that the new facility can accommodate only around 40 persons, officials said that it was put in place to discourage the crew from taking rest inside the facility. Under the Motor Vehicles Act, there is no provision to recruit a driver cum conductor.

An official attached to the SETC said, “The government decided to shut down the facility after it had built a new air-conditioned rest house inside the depot. The stages were removed after introducing the system of double drivers per bus.”

He added that under the system, each bus comprises of a driver and a conductor who has driver’s license too. “He will be acting as a driver-cum-conductor during the journey. Hence, we removed the stage from Trichy as they swap their places at the junction,” the official said. 

The Labour Court directed the government to recruit two drivers and one conductor under this system in 2012. Apparently, this was implemented in only one mofussil bus which is plying between Chennai-Nagercoil owing to a pending case with the High Court in this regard. “The other buses on the same route are not plying complying to the directions of the Labour Court,” Natarjan added.