Employees, pensioners submit memo to Nawanshahr MLA
On a call given by the Punjab Employees and Pensioners Joint Front, a memorandum was submitted to Nawanshahr MLA Dr Nachhatar Pal in the name of the Chief Minister today.
Earlier, pensioners of Nawanshahr and employees of various departments staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office under the leadership of Ajit Singh Barnala, Karnail Singh Rahon, Jeet Lal Gohalon, Sohan Singh, Kuldeep Singh Durka, Ashok Kumar, Jasvir Singh Moro, Davinder Singh Thandi, Joga Singh etc, who also addressed protesters.
Union leaders, speaking about the long-pending demands, demanded that pension should be 2.59 times, as per the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission; the old pension scheme should be implemented for all government, semi-government, board, corporation, local bodies and cooperative institution employees from January 1, 2004; all contract-based delivery, outsourced and enlistment employees working in various departments, boards, corporations, societies, central schemes and local bodies should be regularised; thousands of posts abolished in various departments in the name of restructuring, should be restored and regular recruitments made for the same; mid-day meal workers, Anganwadi ASHA workers and facilitators should be made regular by implementing the decision of the Supreme Court on equal work and equal pay and minimum salary of Rs 18,000 per month be implemented; salary and pension should be paid by adding 125 per cent dearness allowance and pending arrears should be paid.
Union members also demanded that medical allowance be increased to Rs 2,000 per month; all allowances discontinued in the name of revision be restored by increasing it by a factor of 2.25; the pending report of the pay commission regarding ACP be released; the minimum wages be implemented at Rs 26,000 per month; the remaining installments of dearness allowance and 258-month arrears be released immediately; the arrears pending for probation periods including full grade be released immediately; the Rs 200 being imposed per month in the name of development tax be stopped and the amount collected earlier be refunded; cashless health scheme be revised and implemented; the court decisions made in favour of employees and pensioners be generalised and false police cases registered at various places during the protests be cancelled.
Nachhatar Pal assured them to raise these in the Vidhan Sabha.
On the occasion, Sarwan Ram, Major Singh, Des Raj Bajjon, Shingara Singh Soita, Kashmiri Ram, Ajit Singh, Ashni Kumar, Hardial Singh, Avtar Singh, Pyara Singh, Madam Kamlesh, Pushpinder Kumar, Mahinder Ram, Harvinder Singh, Swaranjit Singh, Prem Rattan, Kewal Ram, Ram Lal, Santokh Ram, Harmesh Lal, Amrik Singh, Manjit Kaur, Raj Rani Nawan Shahr, Somnath Takla, Bhajan Lal, Darshan Dev, Jagdish Ram etc among others were present.
