Fill up vacancies in transport department, urge trade unions

CHENNAI: In the backdrop of the bus collision at Vanniyambadi and the chief minister’s advice to drivers, trade unions in the transport corporations seek to fill up driver and conductor vacancies to ensure the safe travel of the passengers and reduction of workload.

Six persons were killed and 64 others were injured when a State Express Transport Corporation bus collided with an omnibus on the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway near Vaniyambadi in the early hours of Saturday.

Following the accident, Chief Minister MK Stalin advised the drivers to drive the bus carefully and should drive the bus within the speed limit. “The drivers should ensure the safety of the passengers while driving,” he had said in a statement.

CITU-affiliated Tamil Nadu State Transport Employees Federation (TNSTEF) general secretary K Arumuga Nainar said that the drivers driving the long route buses like the SETC should be given adequate rest.

“In SETC, there is a huge number of driver vacancies with the drivers forced to work continuously without leaves,” he said, adding long-distance bus drivers, whether it is SETC or omnibus drivers, should be made to work only eight hours a day with adequate rest. The drivers working on the night duty should be given rest.

According to the Motor Transport Workers Act, the drivers should be given 30 minutes rest after five hours of the commencement of the work or they should be made to work only for six hours.

“Tamil Nadu records the highest number of accidents in the state. The government should take steps to reduce the private vehicles growth by encouraging public transport,” he noted.