Ludhiana, May 18
Members of the Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS and PRTC Contract Workers Union Punjab closed depot of the Punjab Roadways here today afternoon to mark their protest against the management concerned for not resolving their issues.
Speaking at the gate of the city depot, union state general secretary Shamsher Singh alleged top officials of the Transport Department were exploiting contractual workers by adopting dictatorial attitudes in violation of the rules.
He said contractual workers on long routes were being forced to suffer. If an employee halted bus at any ‘dhaba’ on the way in case of difficulty to any passenger, he was dismissed on the basis of a fake report.
Protesters also raised questions over the AAP government for not regularising jobs of contractual employees despite showing big dreams to them before the Assembly elections.
Contractual employees had been serving in PUNBUS and the PRTC for past 15 years, but the authorities were continuously ‘exploiting’ them, they added.
Even no service rules were framed for them and no steps taken to regularise their jobs and promote them, they said.
Local depot union president Satnam Singh said if issues of employees were not resolved, they would gherao director and secretary of the Transport Department.
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