Protests gain momentum as Ludhiana West bypoll date nears

As the Ludhiana West bypoll is gaining momentum, so are the protests being held in the city. Various organisations and associations are finding it a perfect time to hit the bull’s eye and put forward their demands before the aspiring candidates and get their voice heard. Today, teachers union and AIDS Control employees held a protest. A state-wide protest rally has been announced by the teachers’ union in Ludhiana on June 11.

Ahead of bypoll, the Punjab AIDS Control Employees Welfare Association (PACEWA) held a protest against the state government. The main demand of the protesting employees is regularisation and hike in salaries by 20 per cent. The agitating employees said that they held a protest last month and were given an assurance by Sanjeev Arora. A month passed and nothing has been done in this regard.

The employees, who are the backbone of state’s HIV/AIDS Control Programme, accused the government of systemic exploitation, mismanagement and outright neglect, leading to both financial insecurity for the staff and dire consequences for HIV patients.

“PACEWA has long demanded that contractual employees, many of whom have served for over two decades, should be regularised. Despite promises from government officials, including Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema in 2024, no formal steps have been taken to regularise the staff,” said state president Jasmail Singh Deol.

Employees have faced repeated delays in salary payments, sometimes waiting for months without pay. Salary structures are inconsistent, with workers performing identical roles receiving different wages. The last salary revision was done over a decade ago, with no subsequent adjustments to account for inflation. PACEWA is demanding a 20 per cent salary hike, in line with Delhi’s pay-scale for similar positions.

Associate Pre-Primary Teachers Union Punjab also held a protest outside Sanjeev Arora’s election office on Ferozepur Road. Teachers from various parts of the state gathered there in large numbers and raised slogans against the government.

Union leaders addressing the gathering said that that they were regularised under the policy for welfare of ad-hoc, contractual temporary teacher policy, but till date, their service rules have not been formulated. They demand that they should be brought under special cadre and service rules of the regular employees and should be implemented for them as well. The employees demanded group insurance, medical re-imbursement, pension scheme and promotion scheme etc.

Meanwhile, teachers’ unions in Punjab have declared a statewide protest rally in Ludhiana on June 11, over longstanding departmental and financial issues faced by thousands of school teachers.

The unions have already submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner, demanding immediate withdrawal of termination notices for 3704 Master Cadre and 6635 ETT teachers and seeking job security. They are also demanding prompt promotions across teaching and non-teaching staff, regularisation of computer and contractual teachers, restoration of old pension scheme, implementation of pending DA arrears, and revocation of the new pay-scales imposed since July 2020.