Unique protest: Kerala RTO staff work overtime till 8 pm against curtailed promotion prospects

Palakkad (Kerala): Employees of Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) across Kerala staged a unique protest on Thursday by extending their working hours until 8 pm, opposing what they allege is a curtailment of promotion opportunities within the Motor Vehicles Department.

The agitation was organised by the Kerala Motor Vehicle Department Staff Association following amendments to the Special Rules governing recruitment, qualifications, probation and promotions of government employees.

According to staff members, the changes have hugely reduced the chances of promotion for ministerial employees in the Department.

To register their protest without disrupting public services, employees decided to continue working beyond regular office hours.

Suresh Kumar, a senior clerk at the RTO, said the staff deliberately chose not to halt services as that would affect the public.

"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 protest, employees, including women staff members, continued working late into the evening at RTO offices across the state in a symbolic demonstration.

Association leaders said the agitation was triggered by changes in the Department’s promotion structure. Earlier, when two Motor Vehicle Inspectors (MVIs) were promoted to the post of Joint Regional Transport Officer (Joint RTO), one Senior Superintendent from the ministerial cadre would also be elevated to the same post.

Under the revised system, however, a Senior Superintendent will now become eligible for promotion to Joint RTO only after eight Motor Vehicle Inspectors are promoted. The association argues that this revision has drastically reduced promotion prospects for ministerial staff.

Leaders said the “work more for rights” protest was intended to highlight what they describe as the denial of fair promotional opportunities and to draw the government’s attention to the issue. They added that RTO offices across Kerala participated in the protest by extending their work until 8 pm.

ANI