SSA office staff to protest in Chandigarh tomorrow

Jalandhar, February 26

Employees of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Office Employees’ Union have announced to hold a protest at the Punjab Chief Minister’s residence in Chandigarh on February 28.

The decision follows the government’s failure to heed their demands after a three-day symbolic pen-down strike.

Members of the union said despite a decision taken by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Education Minister Harjot Bains and the cabinet sub-committee to regularise the services of contractual employees of the Education Department, nothing had been done and the decision remains pending.

Employees have expressed anger that the cabinet sub-committee meeting on November 22, 2023 and January 31, 2024 decided on regularising employees, but the decision was yet to be implemented.

They said during the meeting held at Punjab Bhavan on the said dates, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Cabinet Ministers Aman Arora and Kuldeep Dhaliwal agreed to regularise the employees, but so far they have neither received the orders nor have their salary deductions been stopped.

The union leaders said the increase in the salary of mid-day meal office employees had been stopped from year 2019. In view of this, the SSA office employees would hold a protest in Chandigarh on February 28. They would gherao the Chief Minister and the Cabinet Ministers by staging dharnas and will also hold protests during the campaign rallies in the coming days.

The statement was issued by leaders of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Office Employees’ Union, Shobhit Bhagat, Gagandeep Sharma, Rajiv Sharma and Sukhraj.