Palakkad (Kerala) [India], March 6 (ANI): The employees of Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Kerala have announced a protest against the alleged curtailment of their promotion opportunities within the Motor Vehicles Department.
To voice their opposition, employees on Thursday resolved to extend their daily operations by working beyond standard office hours until 8 pm.
The protest was organised by the Kerala Motor Vehicle Department Staff Association after amendments were made to the Special Rules, which deal with recruitment, qualifications, probation, and promotions of employees in various state government departments.
According to staff members, these changes have significantly reduced promotion prospects for ministerial employees in the department.
Suresh Kumar, a senior clerk at the RTO, emphasised that staff members are mindful that stalling work would be contrary to both public and government interests. He expressed hope that authorities will take appropriate corrective measures to redress their concerns.
"It is not in the interest of the public or the government to stop working; in fact, halting services would be detrimental to society as a whole. That is why we are choosing to work an additional three hours after 5 pm across the state today. We want our protest to be noticed, and we want our grievances to be clearly understood by the public and the government alike. We remain hopeful that the authorities will take appropriate corrective measures to redress these issues," Kumar told ANI.
As part of the agitation, employees, including women staff, continued to work in RTO offices across the state late into the evening as a symbolic protest.
Association leaders stated that the protest was triggered by changes in the promotion pattern within the department. Previously, 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.
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. According to the association, this change has sharply reduced promotion opportunities for ministerial staff.
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. They added that all RTO offices in the state participated in the protest by extending their working hours until 8 pm. (ANI)