Date:17/06/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/06/17/stories/2005061708990400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Maoists back RTC staff strike

Staff Reporter

Enlist support of unions, political parties

HYDERABAD: The CPI (Maoist) has extended "total" support to the APSRTC Joint Action Committee for its strike call of July 4.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, Ramakrishna, party secretary, called upon the committee to continue its struggle till the private transport service was scrapped and services to the public improved.

The party called upon various trade unions, people's organisations and political parties to support the strike and expose the Government's "Machiavellian" policies by backing RTC employees. By extending their support to employees people would be ensuring that the corporation was not privatised.

According to the statement, the RTC was one of the three public undertakings besides Singareni Collieries and the State Electricity Board to be privatised, as indicated in the World Bank's annual report of 2000.

`In footsteps of TDP'

The Congress Government, Ramakrishna alleged, was following in the footsteps of its predecessor TDP regime in privatising RTC and Singareni Collieries. Since the trade unions of SCCL had offered resistance, the Government seemed to be concentrating on RTC.