Shimla :Bus services of the Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) have been partially affected as most of the contractual staff since Tuesday have decided not to work for more than 8 hours .
They are protesting for not being compensated adequately like the regular staffers for working overtime among other demands including raising of their salaries and being absorbed as regular employees .
Union leaders told the Hill Post they will also hold fast protests from 23-25 October at the HRTC’s head office to press for their demands .
Most long route buses operate for more than 8 hours in Himachal where travel takes a longer time due to the hard mountain terrain .
Out of the 5000 or so HRTC employees around 2800 are contractual employees , many of them are drivers and conductors .
Protesting HRTC contractual staff had paralysed services in the state in August as well .
Among all PSUs HRTC is the biggest loss making company in the state with an accumulated loss of over Rs 550 crore .
HRTC connects some of the remotest places in the country . Private operators are mostly confined to urban areas .
In a 20 year career published widely. He has worked for the BBC, AFP, The Statesman, IANS and the Business Standard . Known for his hard hitting writing and occasional off-beat stories. He lives in Shimla.
