AP passes bill merging 52,000 RTC employees with the state government from Jan 1st

Amaravati: Bringing good news to RTC employees, the Andhra Pradesh assembly passed the APSRTC (Absorption of Employees into Government Services) Bill 2019, on Monday.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced that all RTC employees would be treated as government staff from January 1, 2020. Their retirement age has been increased from 58 years to 60 years.

It has been a long-cherished dream of the employees, and their demands had been pending for a long time. “We are happy to announce that their dreams are coming true,” Jagan told the House.

With the merger, 52,000 RTC employees will be absorbed into the state government, under the Transport Department. The CM added that the government would have to spend Rs 3,600 cores towards salaries of the newly incorporated employees.

Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah, who tabled the bill, said that a committee headed by C Anjaneya Reddy had submitted its report and recommendations. The committee looked into various issues including the merger, feasibility of substituting the modern buses with electric buses, among others.