Government drivers to strike from October 13

BANGALORE: The State Government and Government Concerns’ Drivers Federation on Monday announced that drivers of State Government vehicles and other government undertakings will go on an indefinite keydown strike on October 13 as a protest against misuse of government vehicles and the government’s reluctance to accept their demands.Speaking to reporters, M N Venugopal, president of the Federation, said that government vehicles have been misused for years and that drivers had to face the brunt of the unnecessary service they render. “It is shameful that government officials use the vehicles given to them beyond the fixed time of duty.Why should we drive them around after their work is done,” he questioned.The Federation has made a list of demands to the state government including increase in special pay from the existing Rs 90 a month to Rs 600. “This is not a phenomenal increase. We are paid Rs 3 per day as of now.But what about the overtime duty we perform, like dropping the officials home, catering to the needs of their families,” he said. Other demands include payment of arrears in uniform allowances, free BMTC bus passes for drivers and filling vacancies. This is not the first keydown strike that the federation has engaged in.The first one was in June 1999 and the other was in October 2006. “After repeated requests, the State High Court asked the government to conduct a meeting to discuss our problems. That meeting has not yet happened.We will not file a case as we want to give the government some more time,” said K Ramakrishna, president of the Federation. The State Government and Government Concerns’ Drivers Federation said it would withdraw some of their demands if the government would set fixed work timings for the drivers