Contractual employees of Punjab Roadways, Punbus observe two-hour strike; bus services hit
The contractual employees of the state-owned Punjab Roadways and PRTC on Thursday observed a two-hour strike at bus stands in support of various demands, including regularisation of their jobs.
The protesters blocked the exit of various bus stands in the state, affecting bus services and causing inconvenience to commuters.
The two-hour strike call was given by the Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC (Pepsu Road Transport Corporation) Contract Workers Union to protest against the state government's "inaction" over their demands.
Our main demand is regularisation of jobs, said a protester in Tarn Taran.
The protesters also raised slogans against the Punjab government for not accepting their demands. They threatened to observe a complete strike on April 7, 8 and 9 if their demands are not met.
Punjab Roadways, Punbus and PRTC Contract Workers Union (Hoshiarpur unit) president Raminder Singh during the strike in Hoshiarpur criticised the state government for "failing" to fulfill its promise of regularising contractual workers.
During a meeting with the union representatives last July, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had assured them that their jobs would be regularised.
The government, however, did not take any concrete step despite multiple meetings thereafter and presented the recent state budget without addressing this issue, he said.
Singh pointed out that while Rs 450 crore has been allocated for the scheme of free bus travel for women in the latest budget, the government is yet to clear the outstanding dues.
Besides regularisation of jobs, they are also demanding a salary hike and stopping the hiring of employees through outsourcing.
