Haryana Roadways workers go on one-day hunger strike

Haryana Roadways employees held a one-day hunger strike at the Sirsa depot on Monday after accusing the state government of failing to meet long-standing demands.

The protest was called by the Haryana Roadways Workers Union. Depot chief Prithvi Chahar chaired the gathering and Satpal Singh Rania conducted the proceedings. Leaders from the Sarv Karamchari Sangh, including district president Madanlal Khoth and district secretary Ramesh Kumar Saini, placed garlands on the workers as they began their strike.

State union president Narendra Singh Dinod and treasurer Pawan Kumar Sharma joined the protest. Union leaders Rajkumar Cashier, Virender Kuleri and Ravinder Kumar said the government and the transport minister had invited the workers for talks but had not resolved any issues.

The union leaders announced that the roadways employees across the state would hold a major protest at the Transport Minister’s camp office on 22 February 2026, with strong participation expected from Sirsa district.

The workers said public money was being given to private bus operators while roadways staff were denied overdue payments. They said the roadways employees had worked long hours during the COVID-19 pandemic, transporting migrant workers to distant states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but were never paid overtime.

The unions demanded that the government release pending COVID-period payments. They also criticised the decision to grant Rs 50 crore to kilometre-scheme private bus operators even though their buses did not run during the pandemic.

At the Sirsa depot, Group-D employees have not received overtime, pending night allowances or LTC payments, the union said. The leaders warned they would intensify the agitation if the government failed to implement the demands already agreed upon in earlier rounds of talks.

Several workers, including Kulbir Singh, Inderpal, Ravi Kumar, Sandeep Kumar and Jagbir Singh, took part in the hunger strike. They were later given juice and formally lifted from the protest by union leaders.

If their demands remain unmet, the unions said, workers from across Haryana will join the February 22 demonstration in large numbers.