Pune RTO strike: Services hit as staff protest stalled restructuring

Pune’s Regional Transport Office (RTO) witnessed a one-day strike by its clerical staff on Tuesday, disrupting several key services for citizens. Vehicle registration transfers, transport vehicle permits, duplicate Registration Certificates (RC), and cancellation of hypothecation, the removal of a lender’s charge from a vehicle’s RC, all came to a halt. Services like vehicle fitness passing and learning licence issuance, however, continued.

Vishwa Inarkar, an agent at the Pune RTO, said, “The strike was called just a day earlier, so some individuals with urgent work, vehicle registration transfers, transport vehicle permits, RC duplication, and cancellation of hypothecation were not able to get their work done.” He added that agents handling vehicle passing and learning licenses continued to function.

Fellow agent Nilesh Dhawale pointed to another set of affected visitors. “Some citizens come for general enquiries, asking about forms and required documents. They were also not informed about the strike, so several such individuals had to return without any help today,” he said.

About the strike

The roots of Tuesday’s strike stretch back nearly four years. On September 23, 2022, the Maharashtra government approved a restructuring of the clerical department within the Motor Vehicles Department.

As part of this reform, the post of Junior Auditor was eliminated from the promotion hierarchy. Earlier, a clerical employee’s career would progress from Junior Clerk, then Senior Clerk, followed by Junior Auditor, then Office Superintendent (OS), and finally Admin Officer, the topmost clerical post in RTO administration. Under the new structure, the Junior Auditor rank was dropped, and those serving in that role were directly promoted to Office Superintendent.

Additionally, the total number of OS vacancies across Maharashtra was raised from 66 to 176, and several promotions were carried out to fill these posts. Even then, 56 OS positions remained vacant. The union demanded that Senior Clerks be promoted directly to OS to fill the gap.

The government agreed, but with a condition: these 56 promotions would be temporary, valid for only three months, pending the finalisation of the new recruitment policy. Usually, the validity is 11 months, the RTO employee union said.

Timeline of delays

Story continues below this ad

Jagdish Kande, working president of the Motor Vehicle Department (RTO) Employee Union, described the sequence of events that led to Tuesday’s action.

“When the restructuring was approved in September 2022, we expected the revised recruitment policy would be ready in six to seven months. It has now been close to four years, and the policy has still not been framed,” Kande said.

The frustration boiled over on September 26, 2024, when the union staged its first strike demanding the promotions that had been announced but not implemented.

Following that strike, the Transport Minister intervened on October 10, 2025, directing officials to process the promotions. The 56 Senior Clerks were accordingly promoted to Office Superintendent in December 2025. But the relief was short-lived.

Story continues below this ad

Since the promotions were tied to a temporary validity period, which ended in February 2026, all 56 officials were reverted to their earlier designation of Senior Clerk, along with the lower pay scale that comes with it.

“It is unjust and unacceptable. After promoting 56 officials to OS, changing their cadre, responsibilities, nature of work, and pay scale, they have been demoted back to Senior Clerk with a lower seniority and reduced pay, only because the restructuring policy is not yet finalised,” Kande said.

Stalled careers

The union’s concerns go beyond the 56 demoted officials. “Under a government rule on time-bound promotions, employees are entitled to a higher pay scale every ten years of service. However, because the new recruitment rules are not in place, officials who completed 20 years of service have been denied their due promotions to OS since 2022,” Kande explained.

“Around 80 such officials have retired so far after reaching the upper age limit, without a salary hike or promotion, only because of delays in framing the recruitment policy,” Kande said. “This needs to be done as soon as possible.”

What the union wants

Story continues below this ad

First, the 56 officials who were promoted and then demoted should be given an extension, allowing them to continue working as Office Superintendents until the new recruitment rules are finalised. The union also wants compensation for the financial loss caused by the demotion.

Second, the time-bound promotion policy must be implemented without further delay, so that eligible officials are not denied pay hikes and career advancement simply because of administrative delay.

“If our demands are not met, we will go on an indefinite strike from June 16,” Kande warned.