Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has proposed not to go for any appointments for at least five more years until permanent employees are reduced from 25,000 to 15,000. The remark has been made in the corporation’s letter to the state government. 

As per the report, there will be no appointments made to replace around 1500-2000 employees who retire every year. In short, the appointment ban, which has been in effect since 2017, is likely to continue. The move is aimed at reducing the salary expenditure from Rs 83 crore to Rs 50 crore. 

With old buses withdrawn from operating services, the number of buses will drop to 3500 in four years. As superclass services are handed over to SWIFT, a majority of KSRTC’s long-distance services will soon be under SWIFT and will reduce operational expenses rapidly, stated the report. 

Earlier, KSRTC had the highest employee ratio in the country at 8.7 staff per bus, while the national average was 5.5 staff per bus. Often, the multi-duty system on long-route buses employing permanent staff lead to the rise in expenditure and number of employees. However, according to the report, when SWIFT services are converted into a duty basis, the expenses will come down. 

Furthermore, SWIFT does not need a strong mechanical department as that of KSRTC, since contracts are given for maintenance works of new buses. 

Expense drops in SWIFT services 

At present, there are 359 buses and 1200 employees in SWIFT services (3.3 staff per bus). If it had been the case of KSRTC, then there would be a need of around 900 additional employees and salary expenses would go up accordingly. 

From April 2022 to June 2023, SWIFT had demanded Rs 55.62 crore as rent. Of this, there is an arrear of Rs 22.77 crore. Around Rs 15.67 crore was spent on salaries and Rs 56 lakhs for bus maintenance works. 

Employees in KSRTC  

Permanent: 34966 (June 2017)
Temporary: 26,023 (July 2022)