Trade union leader H.V. Ananth Subba Rao flayed the policies of the BJP Government in the State and at the Centre and said that it was hastening the collapse of the public sector units.
Speaking at the Joint Conference of KSRTC workers of Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar here on Sunday, Mr. Subbarao said the pandemic had created upheavals across all the sectors in the country resulting in loss of jobs and employment. Yet, the policies did not address the issue and were skewed in favour of the elite and the rich, he said.
Lashing out at the failure of the government over the spiralling prices of essential commodities and fuel, Mr. Subba Rao said a direct bearing on the increase in prices of fuel was on the transportation sector that was incurring losses.
The fares cannot be hiked as the middle class and people from the economically weaker sections cannot afford it and those who can afford the higher fares were travelling in private vehicles, he added. There were nearly 11 lakh workers including drivers, conductors, etc., employed in the public transport companies across the country and there future was at stake, he said. Instead of a policy for a strong public transportation system, the government was encouraging the private mode of transportation, he added.
Mr. Subba Rao said public sector units were being privatized and this put a question mark on the future of the workers. He pointed out that the entry of private entities into banking and insurance sectors was also a pointer to the new policies of the government.
