Ministerial staff protest, burn copies of Congress manifesto

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, January 17

Members of the Punjab State Ministerial Service Union, Bathinda, staged a protest against the state government at the District Administrative Complex here on Friday. To lodge their protest, they burnt copies of the Congress manifesto of the 2017 Assembly elections.

They said the Congress in its manifesto had announced many schemes for government employees, but after coming to power, it was ignoring their demands. Employees of various departments, including DC office, revenue office, excise and taxation, food and civil supplies, water supply and sanitation, irrigation and health, took part in the protest. Addressing the protesters, union leaders said on March 10, 2019, when the code of conduct had come into force ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the state government had promised to accept their several demands.

They said the government had also assured them that immediately after the code of conduct gets over, their demands would be implemented. The leaders added that for other demands, the government had assured them of constituting a committee. They said after the elections, the government ran away from its promises.

The union leaders said they had also given a notice to the state government to fulfil its promise by January 14, 2020, but to no avail. The protesters said despite repeated reminders, the state government turned a blind eye to their demands and they were left with no alternative, but to stage a protest.

Raising slogans against the state government, union leaders Megh Singh Sidhu and Kewal Bansal said apart from salaries on time, they were demanding implementation of the ‘same work, same wages’ rule, withdrawal of the move to levy Rs200 as development tax, restoration of the old-pension scheme for those who recruited after 2004, implementation of cashless health scheme and the sixth pay commission report.

Punjab, UT employees hold protest

• Members of the Punjab and UT Employee and Pensioner Sangharsh Committee staged a protest against the state government at Children’s Park on Friday. Accusing it of taking an indifferent stance over their long-pending demands, employees also raised slogans against the state government.
• Gurbansh Singh, convener of the committee, said, “We demand implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission’s recommendations, release of outstanding instalments of dearness allowance and regularisation of contractual employees’ services under the Welfare Act December, 2016.”

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