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Bus services resume in Punjab after employees call off strike
The bus service resumed in the evening around 5 pm after the authorities held meetings with the representatives of the contractual employees’ unions, who were stopped by the police while marching towards the Chandigarh residence of the CM on Tuesday.
The contractual employees of State Transport Undertakings (STUs), Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), Punjab Roadways and Punbus called off their strike on the second day following an assurance of meeting chief minister Bhagwant Mann on January 15.
The bus service resumed in the evening around 5 pm after the authorities held meetings with the representatives of the contractual employees’ unions, who were stopped by the police while marching towards the Chandigarh residence of the CM on Tuesday.
According to reports, at least 90% of STU fleets remained off roads with only 10% being operated by regular employees operating on different routes for two days due to strike of the employees.
The union, representing nearly 8,200 contractual and outsourced employees, is demanding the regularisation of jobs, an issue they have been fighting for nearly seven years. Around 90% of the workforce in these organisations are employed on contract.
Harkesh Singh Vicky, vice-president of the Punjab Roadways/PRTC Contractual Employees Union, said senior officials of SAS Nagar district held meeting with them and assured them to have a panel meeting with the CM on January 15.
“We have decided to resume the bus services. The next course of action will be decided post the outcome of meeting with the CM,” he said.
At present, a driver hired on contract earns ₹18,000, while a contractual conductor gets ₹17,000 a month, which is significantly lower than regular employees.
Meanwhile, the second day of the strike caused significant disruptions for passengers, particularly on interstate routes. Public buses from Ludhiana, which typically cover around 16 major routes including Jammu, Katra, Udhampur, Manali, Dharamshala, Jaipur, and Haridwar, largely remained non-operational. Only the Delhi route was partially active.
Many passengers, especially those travelling to Delhi, Jammu, and Himachal Pradesh, turned to trains for relief. Bus stand officials noted that private operators, who do not serve routes like Jammu, Katra, Jaipur, Manikaran and Manali, forced travellers to rely heavily on rail services.
Navraj Batish, general manager of Punjab Roadways, said that only 40 to 45 buses were operated by regular staff on Tuesday, out of the usual 244. This limited operation cut the department’s revenue by at least 50%, severely denting the department’s exchequer.
---- With inputs from Ludhiana
