The employees of the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Kerala staged a unique protest on Friday by working 3 hours beyond the office hours. The protest was against the alleged curtailment of promotion opportunities for ministerial staff in the Motor Vehicles Department.
The Kerala Motor Vehicle Department Staff Association organised the protest after amendments were made to the Special Rules to determine recruitment, qualifications, probation and promotions of employees in various state government departments, news agency PTI reported.
Employees on Thursday worked in the office till 8 pm, extending beyond their daily operations till 5 pm.
Staff members have claimed that the changes in the rules have reduced promotion prospects for ministerial employees in the department.
A senior clerk at the RTO, Suresh Kumar, told ANI that the staff members are mindful that stalling work could be against the public and government interest. He also hoped that authorities would take appropriate measures to redress the concerns of workers.
Further, Kumar said that halting services could be ‘detrimental to society,’ which is why the members are working an additional three hours.
“We want our protest to be noticed, and we want our grievances to be clearly understood by the public and the government alike,” Kumar told ANI.
As part of the protest, employees, including women staff, continued to work in the RTO offices across Kerala.
What prompted the protest?
As per association leaders, the protest was triggered by changes in the promotion pattern of the department. Earlier, when two Motor Vehicle Inspectors (MVIs) were promoted to Joint Regional Transport Officers (Joint RTOs), one Senior Superintendent from the ministerial cadre would also be promoted to the same post.
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However, under the revised system, a Senior Superintendent will now be eligible for promotion to Joint RTO only after eight Motor Vehicle Inspectors are promoted to the post.
Due to this, the association said, the promotion opportunities for ministerial staff will be reduced significantly.
Leaders of the association explained that the “work more in rights” protest was organised to highlight the denial of fair promotion prospects and to draw the government’s attention to the issue.