'I Earn Rs 862 a Day Driving DTC Buses. After 20 Yrs, I Still Need a Second Job'

DTC's contractual drivers have been protesting since 15 September. One of them writes why.

Contractual bus drivers of DTC are demanding equal pay, social security benefits, and better working conditions.

(Image altered by Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

Bason ke rang badal jaate hain, par humare halaat nahi (The colours of the buses change, but our conditions don't).

I am 43 years old, and have been driving buses in Delhi for more than 20 years. In the nineties, I drove the Blue Line buses. Then the low-floor buses came. I drove the orange cluster buses. When those were withdrawn, I was given the blue electric buses that I drive today.

Governments change, and they change the colours of the buses, but our income has hardly been able to catch up with rising prices.

Today, a contractual driver like me gets Rs 862 for every day we work. There is no TA (Travelling Allowance), DA (Dearness Allowance), PF (Provident Fund), or anything else.

'Surviving Delhi on Rs 862'

If I fall ill or have urgent work at home and can't come in, that day's pay is cut. Now tell me, what can Rs 862 get you in a city like Delhi?

In a month of 26 duties, I take home around Rs 22,400. If I do a few extra duties, I might get another Rs 1,000-2,000. If I miss days because of illness or some trouble, it comes to even less.

After more than 20 years of service, and after spending two decades in rented rooms, I have finally bought a small 50-gaj (450 square feet) flat near Soniya Vihar. It is on a loan, with 15 years of instalments of over Rs 20,000 a month.

Do the math: my entire salary is about Rs 22,400, and over Rs 20,000 of it is the installment. How do I run a household on what is left?

'One Shift Isn’t Enough'

That is why I cannot live on the DTC job alone. I wake up at 4 am and drive a private vehicle. My duty at the depot starts at 3 pm, and I work the evening and night shifts there.

I work from 4 am till 11 at night. Despite that, I can barely pay the instalment on my house.

And I am not the only one. Walk through any depot and ask the contractual drivers what they do after their 8-10-hour shift. Almost everyone will tell you they do another job.

Some drive an auto once they get off duty. Some drive for Ola, Uber or Rapido. Some, like me, drive private vehicles. Others take up whatever gig they can find, or sell things on the street. Everyone is doing kuch na kuch (something else), because one job simply does not run a household.

Think about what that means. A person driving your bus has already spent 8 to 10 hours behind the wheel in Delhi's traffic. Then, instead of going home to rest, he sits behind another wheel or stands at another stall.

This is not something we choose. It is what we are forced into because the wage is not enough. 

And the responsibilities keep growing. My daughter has just passed Class 12, and my son is in college. I have to educate them, see them get married and settled. I don't know how it will all happen.

I know that we are on contract. Our salary doesn't come from the government but from the contractors. When we ask, the contractors say they pay according to what the government gives them. But the question I want to ask is this: why is the government paying us so little?

'Our Demands Aren't Unfair'

All we are asking for is equal pay for equal work. As contractual drivers, we do the same job as permanent drivers, so why should we be paid less? If we are paid on the same scale, many of us will not have to take up a second job just to support our families and make ends meet.

We also deserve basic medical facilities and insurance coverage. At present, we do not have adequate medical benefits or paid leave. Without these basic social security protections, we feel as though we are being made to work like bandhua mazdoor (Bonded Labourer). These are not luxuries; they are basic benefits that every worker should be entitled to.

There are also deductions from our already limited wages, and we want these unfair pay cuts to stop. At the depots, we need basic facilities such as clean drinking water, proper toilets, and a place where drivers can rest between shifts.

Most importantly, the double standard between contractual and permanent employees needs to end. We do the same work and carry the same responsibilities, and we deserve to be treated with the same dignity and fairness.

We are not asking for favours. We drive Delhi to its offices, schools, and hospitals every day. All we ask is that the people who keep the city moving are paid fairly and treated with dignity, so that a driver can do one job, do it well, and go home to his family.

If the colour of the bus can change every few years, surely our conditions can change too.

Delhi Government's Response

DTC's contractual drivers have been protesting since 15 September. On 17 September, Transport Minister Pankaj Singh told the press,

"These are not DTC workers, but staff employed by our concessionaires. We have directed the private concessionaires managing the DTC electric buses to sort out the issues with drivers immediately. Also, I would like to appeal to the drivers to withdraw the strike. We are here to listen to your issues; essential services should not be affected."

Singh said that after discussions with drivers and private operators, most demands had been met. He noted that the remaining request for a salary increase requires joint review with the Labour Department, and urged drivers to end their strike and ignore misleading information.

Drivers say that their demands haven't been met and the protest will continue in the national capital on Monday, 21 September.

(The Quint has also reached out to the DTC and Transport Ministry regarding the issues raised by the drivers. The story will be updated once a response is received.)

(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)