Over 300 YBS bus drivers and conductors will be punished for staging a protest last week that employers say went against direct orders.
On Thursday, around 300 YBS bus conductors — or ‘spares’ — and 70 bus drivers refused to operate their buses. The protest came in response to the Yangon Regional Transport Authority’s recent decision to install cash boxes on all YBS buses in place of conductors.
Speaking to the Myanmar Times, Htet Aung, who has been a conductor for two years, explained that the news had come out of nowhere. He said: “The YRTA should have told us about this plan six months ago to give us time to find new jobs. How we can we do it in only five days?”
The group called on the Yangon regional government to arrange new jobs for the conductors, almost all of whom have no means of finding another source of income for their families on such short notice.
Another conductor, Aye Chan, told the Times: “I only need enough to make a living for me and my family. If we cannot collect bus fares, we can work as helpers to service passengers.”
But to add more problems to their plate, the private bus companies under which the participating drivers and conductors are employed are now threatening to penalize the protestors for having disrupted the business.
“The [company owners] told them to operate the buses, but the drivers refused to comply. Passengers were inconvenienced in the process, so action will be taken against them in accordance with company policy,” a spokesperson for the Shwe Lann Khin company — who owns some of the buses whose drivers protested — told The Voice.
Last week, conductors also told the Times that they will be marching again in front of Yangon City Hall if a new decision regarding their future employment is not announced within a week’s time.
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