Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR/ JAMMU, Oct 20: Employees of the J&K Road Transport Corporation (JKRTC) protested today at Srinagar and Jammu, demanding the release of their post-retirement benefits, which have been pending since they left the Corporation.
Scores of employees gathered at the Press Enclave here, raising slogans in support of their demands. According to them, nearly 202 non-pensionable employees who retired in 2019 were denied post-retirement benefits such as gratuity and leave pay.
The employees said that the administration had recently released some financial assistance to the Corporation, but they were unsure whether or not they had been included. “We recently met the authorities, who informed us that they had already released financial assistance in favour of the corporation. We want to know whether or not the corporation has included us in the financial package”, an employee said, adding that the Corporation is ignoring their concerns.
They alleged that the Corporation is deceiving the administration by claiming that it is unable to pay benefits due to losses incurred in the previous two years as a result of the pandemic. They said the majority of the employees suffer from health issues and are unable to cover their medical expenses.
They rued they had gone from pillar to post in search of redress for the issues, but that nothing had been done except make promises. “All the officials, particularly Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta and Advisor RR Bhatnagar, gave us patient hearings and even wrote back to the corporation in support of our demands,” another employee said, adding that the Corporation’s concerned Managing Director is also unmoved.
Meanwhile, retired/ VRS/ GHS given JKRTC workers led by Dev Raj Bali held protest near Press Club in Jammu and demanded release of 6th Pay Commission arrears, COLA arrears in favour of VRS given employees of the Corporation. They alleged that despite directions from the Advisor and the Chief secretary, the Management of the RTC was not releasing their post retired benefits.
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