E-Paper
Ludhiana: Roadways contractual staffers’ stir from March 13
The state general secretary Shamsher Singh Dhillon and other union leaders accused the government of deliberately delaying the process and using stalling tactics
Punjab Roadways, Punbus, and PRTC’s contractual workers union announced a series of agitations against the state government in a state-level meeting held in Ludhiana on Saturrday.
The union has laid out a phased protest plan, beginning with gate rallies at all bus depots across Punjab on March 13, followed by a demonstration at the PRTC headquarters in Patiala on March 19. The workers will stage a protest at the transport department’s headquarters in Chandigarh On March 26. If the government continues to ignore their demands, bus stands across Punjab will be shut down with demonstrations on April 3. As a final measure, a complete strike has been scheduled for April 7-9, during which all government-run buses will be taken off the roads.
During the meeting, the union leaders expressed anger over the government’s failure to act despite multiple commitments. They pointed out that on July 1, 2024, CM Bhagwant Mann had assured workers of a solution regarding their regularisation within a month. However, eight months have passed, and no concrete action has been taken.
Similarly, on February 17, transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar had promised to formulate a separate policy for contractual employees, yet workers claim they have received no updates on any progress.
The state general secretary Shamsher Singh Dhillon and other union leaders accused the government of deliberately delaying the process and using stalling tactics. They criticised transport department officials for ignoring government directives and failing to implement decisions made in previous agreements. Instead of resolving the issue, they argued, the department was forcing workers into repeated protests.
They alleged that the management was more focused on damage control than on addressing the workers’ legitimate concerns. They emphasised that workers were left with no option but to escalate their agitation due to the government’s continued neglect of their demands.
