Punjab Roadways extend protest as govt assurances on release of detained staff remains unmet

A day after contractual employees of Punjab’s state-run road transport corporations agreed to call off their strike after a meeting with the transport minister, they continued their agitation, demanding the release of arrested and detained employees and reinstatement of those suspended and dismissed.

The state-wide protests by the workers started on November 28 against the opening of tenders under the kilometre-based bus scheme, which they claimed was a backdoor attempt to allow private players to operate on government-notified routes, threatening thousands of jobs in the state transport sector.

Under the scheme, private operators lease buses to the transport department and are paid a fixed rate per kilometre.

On Sunday evening, when the protest entered its third day, after a six-hour meeting with Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar in Tarn Taran district, the employees agreed to call off their strike, the state government had said.

However, in a late-night development, the union representatives said their protests would continue until those employees who are in police custody are released. They also demanded the reinstatement of suspended and dismissed employees.

Punjab Roadways, Punjab State Bus Stand Management Company Limited (Punbus), and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) Contract Workers Union leader Resham Singh Gill said 173 employees are in police custody, who should be immediately released.

The transport minister had assured that the arrested or detained employees would be released, but none of them have been released yet, he said.

Gill further said the strike will be lifted after the detained and arrested workers reach their respective depots.

The protesting employees also said that the minister in the meeting had promised reinstatement of suspended and dismissed staff.

After the meeting, Bhullar had assured that the genuine demands of the drivers and conductors would be addressed.

He had also said that the employees suspended during the agitation would be reinstated and added that the protesting staff would not interfere in the kilometre-based bus scheme.

Sandeep Singh, senior vice president of the workers’ union in Hoshiarpur, alleged that the assurances given by the transport minister during Sunday’s meeting have not been honoured.

Ahead of the protest on November 28, several union leaders were detained, triggering clashes at multiple locations. In Sangrur, the protest turned violent when some workers climbed atop buses and splashed petrol on police personnel attempting to bring them down.

The SHO of the Dhuri police station sustained burn injuries after his uniform caught fire. Police had booked 10 protesters in connection with the incident.

Bus services of the state-owned transport undertakings remained affected in many parts of Punjab for the fourth day on Monday, affecting passengers.