HYDERABAD: Even as the suspense over the RTC strike continued till late into the night, TSRTC employees’ joint action committee (JAC) has decided to file a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the suicides of some workers. The JAC is also planning to lodge a complaint with the National Commission for Women (NCW) for manhandling women employees and other workers by police during the recent ‘Chalo Tank Bund’ rally conducted by the employees.
“We are helping JAC prepare the draft for filing the complaint with NHRC. It will be sent in a few days,” a Telangana Jana Samithi leader, who is involved in the process, told TOI. JAC will highlight that suicides by workers belonging to SC, ST and BC sections were more.
“Insensitive approach to bereaved families by the government, preventive arrests of employees’ leaders, denial of permission for meetings, women beaten up by male cops, indiscriminate lathicharge on protestors and non-payment of salaries for the month of September are some of the issues that will be raised in the petition,” TJS leaders explained.
The petition will also raise use of tear gas by police on peaceful protestors during the Chalo Tank Bund rally. “The protestors were beaten up mercilessly. Some standing far away in lanes and bylanes were chased and beaten. Twenty employees, including women, suffered serious injuries,” a JAC leader said. He said that on an earlier occasion women employees taking part in a funeral procession of an RTC driver, who died of a cardiac arrest, were given the baton charge by male cops.
It may be recalled the Communist Party of India had already registered a complaint NHRC. Meanwhile, Congress MLA T Jagga Reddy on Thursday supported the moves of RTC JAC to resume duty if the government allows them to join without any riders. “There is no option for the 48,000 employees. They cannot go on staging protest rallies,” he added.
(Courtesy Times of india)