Under pressure from the police and the transport department, owners of private buses and minibuses have agreed to pay salaries to the drivers and conductors and do away with the commission system, which has been blamed for rash driving and road deaths.

Bengal Bus Syndicate, the largest organisation of the bus and minibus-owners in the city, took a decision to this effect at a meeting last week.

?Though we have to take on a permanent financial burden, we have agreed to pay salaries to the drivers and conductors instead of commission. The salaries have been decided taking all factors into account. We believe neither the bus workers nor the government will have any objection to our proposal,?? said Swarnakamal Saha, president of the Syndicate.

He added that the matter would be discussed at length at a meeting with the bus workers? unions, before the proposal is forwarded to the transport department.

?We have already sent copies of the proposal to the union representatives and a meeting with them is expected in February-end,? Saha elaborated.

Transport minister Subhas Chakraborty stated that the government is in favour of abolishing the commission system. ?Let the modalities be finalised between the owners and workers first. We will consider the matter when it comes to us.?

The minister said salary scales and other terms and conditions could be decided across the table if the owners approach the matter with an open mind.

Senior police officers associated with traffic management feel salaries for private bus and minibus drivers and conductors would reduce the number of traffic mishaps in the city.

According to the proposal, the drivers and conductors will be paid on the same scale as the casual bus workers of the Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC) and Calcutta Tramways Company ? Rs 160 for a nine-hour day and Rs 13 per hour of overtime.

Currently, drivers and conductors get to keep 25 per cent of the total earnings of a private bus. The amount varies from Rs 400 to Rs 600, depending on the route.

The commission is shared among the driver, his help and the conductors.

The bus-owners have agreed to pay salary on the condition that the single-door system is introduced in both private buses and state buses. Also, the bus workers will have to pay the fine for violation of traffic rules.

While the minibuses have one door, the private buses have two. The CSTC first introduced one-door vehicles to reduce the crush inside a bus.