Contract employees block Bathinda-Chandigarh NH

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 30

The union of contract workers has intensified its agitation ahead of the imposition of the code of conduct in the state. Contract employees, along with their families, today staged a protest by blocking the Bathinda-Chandigarh National Highway at Bibiwala Chowk over their pending demand of regularisation.

The protesters said their protest would continue until their demands were met by the state government. Long queues of vehicles due to traffic jam caused a lot of inconvenience to commuters.

The protest was led by Contractual Employees Sanghrash Morcha leaders Jagroop Singh, Gurwinder Singh Panu, Varinder Singh Bibiwala, Rajesh Kumar, Rupinder Singh, Balwant Singh and Jaspreet Singh. They alleged that the government, despite their two-and-a-half-month protest in Patiala and Morinda, was ignoring their demands.

Regarding the Punjab Protection and Regularization of Contractual Employees’ Bill, 2021, they alleged that the Bill was drafted by the government at the behest of the corporates to fill the coffers of the capitalists. They said there were many loopholes in the Bill which recommended regularisation of only outsourced contract employees.

The leaders warned that if the government tried to manipulate or torpedo the protest, it would be met with an appropriate response. The protest continued till the filing of this report.

BKU extends support to protesters

Sangrur: BKU Ugrahan has extended its support to youths who blocked Sangrur-Dhuri road in Sangrur on Tuesday. The protesters alleged that recruitment in the Police Department was not being done on merit. “The government should take action on complaints of these youths. We will support their protest,” said Gobinder Singh, a BKU Ugrahan leader from Sangrur.