Karnataka Cabinet approves 15% salary hike to RTC employees

In a decision by Karnataka government, employees and officers working in the State-run road transport corporations (RTCs) will now get a 15 per cent hike in their salaries. The decision was approved by the state government on Thursday, June 15, 2023, during the cabinet meeting.

The decision has been made after the chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai, made an announcement to raise the basic pay of RTC employees in the month of March 2023.

H.K. Patil, minister, parliamentary affairs, told the media that the decision to raise salaries was a pledge made by the Congress party before the elections. During the meeting it was also highlighted that the decision to raise the basic pay by 15 per cent is estimated to cost approximately Rs 45.13 crore per month and a total of about Rs 2,166 crore over a four-year period.

The joint action committee had previously declared that if the State government did not raise the basic salaries of the staff by 20 per cent, the employees would initiate an indefinite strike starting from March 21.

Negotiations commenced between the State government and transport minister B. Sriramulu, who initially promised a 10 per cent hike. Subsequently, during a meeting with the managing directors of the corporations, a proposal was put forth to increase the salaries by up to 14 per cent. Finally, the chief minister announced that the employees’ salaries would be increased by 15 per cent.

Along with the salary raise, the government has also taken measures to alleviate the burden on the RTCs employees. Therefore, it has decided to waive dues amounting to Rs 79.85 crore, which included motor vehicle tax and arrears owed by the RTCs. Furthermore, the cabinet granted approval for Rs 28.13 crore to be allocated for the procurement of ten double-decker electric buses as part of the National Clean Air program.