Report by Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has taken a decision to recruit 17,450 drivers and assistants on contractual basis. The State Transport Minister declared that the tendering process to choose contractors will start on 2 October 2025. These contractors will supply drivers and assistants on a contract of 3 years. Justifying this, the Minister stated that this step is necessary to ensure availability of staff for operating 8,000 new buses. He, however, did not respond when asked why these posts are not being filled through permanent workers.
According to the Minister’s announcement, contractual drivers and assistants will receive a salary of approximately Rs 30,000. But other reports suggest that the MSRTC will pay only Rs. 12,080/- to Rs. 26,673/- plus extra allowances.
Whenever permanent workers go on strike, contract workers are used to break the strike. This was the experience of the MSRTC workers when they launched their recent struggles in 2022 and 2024. In September 2023 the government of Maharashtra issued a resolution approving the empanelment of nine private agencies to provide contractual employees for various posts in all government, semi-government, urban, rural, local bodies, corporation boards and other government establishments. However, due to very strong opposition by workers of Maharashtra, the government was forced to scrap the recruitment process.
Recently nurses, doctors and other health workers, teachers, municipal workers, and bank workers have also been on struggle against contractual employment. Many All India and state level unions of workers of public sector enterprises have included a demand to stop hiring contractual workers as their main demand. They are pointing out that the contract labour system is not only against the interests of those who are recruited as contract workers but also against the interests of the entire working class.
According to the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970, employing contract labour is not permitted for work of permanent nature. However, several departments of the Central and State governments and local self-government bodies openly violate this Act and recruit contract workers for various kinds of permanent work.
The working class cannot depend on the state authorities or the courts for justice. It is only the unity of working class with other labouring masses which can give them any justice.
Kamgar Ekta Committee calls upon all workers and working people to support the struggle of the workers of MSRTC against the hiring of workers on contract basis.