MTC Awards Rs 64.56 Crore Bus Conductor Outsourcing Contract to UP Firm

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) in Chennai has issued a work order to Uttar Pradesh-based private agency SS Enterprises to outsource bus conductors across the city, despite strong opposition from transport employees' unions.

Under the contract, valued at Rs 64.56 crore, the private firm will supply up to 1,797 conductors daily across six regions for an initial period of 11 months. According to the work order issued on August 7, the MTC will pay the agency a basic monthly rate of Rs 27,679 per conductor. The complete deployment of outsourced personnel is scheduled to be completed within six months.

The tender to outsource conductor positions was initially floated in February, and the bids were subsequently opened in March. Following the scrutiny of the submitted bids, the transport corporation finalised the contract and handed over the order to the Uttar Pradesh-based company.

The decision has drawn sharp criticism from employee representatives and political leaders. K Arumuga Nainar, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Employees Federation (CITU), stated that employees had expected the TVK government to reverse the previous DMK government's policy on outsourcing jobs.

Nainar said the TVK government had gone a step ahead by handing over the contract to an out-of-state firm at a time when lakhs of youth in Tamil Nadu are waiting for employment opportunities. He alleged that the previous DMK administration maintained a double standard by advocating social justice and reservation while simultaneously acting against those principles through outsourcing.

Condemning the stance taken by the administration, CITU demanded that the government cancel the tender immediately. PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss also released a statement regarding the development, recalling that the TVK had promised to ensure a dignified life and social security for government employees in its 2026 Assembly election manifesto.