HYDERABAD: After 27 days of the APSRTC strike, public buses came back to the streets of Hyderabad on Sunday, but only after conductors gave the jalopies a heave-ho push to overcome strike-induced indolence.Finally, after a week of divide-and-rule tactics, the government succeeded in breaking the RTC strike. Buoyed by that breakthrough, the government was hard at work on Sunday with similar tactics vis a vis the other unions participating in the Telangana Sakala Janula Samme: government employees, teachers, miners and civic staff.These carrot-and-stick efforts had differing results but the resolve of the strikers seemed to be slackening. In a surprise move, the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) called off its three-day rail blockade on the second day. TJAC leaders offered the explanation that since a bandh has been called on Monday, a rail roko was deemed unnecessary.Of all the talks ministers have initiated with various unions, those with teachers seemed to have achieved the government’s purpose of driving a wedge among the strikers. Leading this effort, ministers K Parthasarathi and S Sailajanath seemed to have won over a faction by promising to consider their service demands.The Telangana Teachers Joint Action Committee (TTJAC) seemed to half way play along, announcing that they would take classes for half a day and participate in the Samme for the rest of the day. They would take no salary.The TTJAC will hold its general body meeting on Monday to take a final decision. But a group of teachers representing Telagana JAC of Teachers are opposing it. On the other hand, employees of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation did not fall for the inducements held out by minister Maheedhar Reddy. The minister spoke encouraging about regularisation of 700 temp staff, house sites for GHMC employees and a recruitment to 6,000 posts.The GHMC union considered the offerings but dedided to stick to the strike.The government has similarly invited the miners of Singareni to talks in Hyderabad on Monday but is expected to come up against tougher opposition.As for breaking the biggest bloc participating in the strike, the government employees, the government has adopted a tough-cop-soft-cop approach with chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy playing the former role and deputy chief minister Damodar Raja Narasimha the other. Sources said Raja Narasimha promised to consider most of the service demands made by TEJAC.Two of the carrots floated Sunday were a proposal to treat the strike period as special leave and a festival advance to employees. Perhaps as a tactical ploy, the chief minister was reported to be opposed to any such giveaways
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