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Ludhiana: PAU’s protest snowballs into political issue
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal in his address at PAU protest, which has snowballed into a political issue, assured that if elected to power, he would revise the pay scales and put into motion a process for permanent recruitments.
The protest by Punjab Agricultural University’s (PAU) Daily Paid Labour (DPL) union, contractual employees’ union and teachers’ associations snowballed into a political issue, with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal addressing protesters during a visit on Thursday.
In his address, Grewal assured the SAD/BSP-combine, if elected to power, would revise the pay scales and put into motion a process for permanent recruitments.
Grewal, who has visited protesters in the afternoon, empathised with the DPL employees, saying “It is not possible to run a house in ₹7000. Some of them are working for nearly 15 to 20 years on the same pay scale.”
“Sadly, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who claims to be a common man, could not see the plight of these workers. The government should look into their plight and increase wages. Some provision has to be made to accommodate them and increase their pay scale to ₹21,000. Else the SAD/ BSP government will get their pay scale revised,” he added.
Grewal meets teachers’ associations
Grewal later met with protesting members of the Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations (PFUCTO), also listening to their demands.
The development took place a day after cabinet minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu persuaded Harmeet Singh Kingra, the president of the PFUCTO and the PAU Teachers’ Association, to end his seven-day-long hunger strike.
Ashu had also requested the protesting teachers to end their strike, after giving them assurances of raising their demands of regularisation and increment in salaries in the next cabinet meeting.
The protesters, however, refused to cede until an official notification was issued announcing the same.
Fissures emerge between protesting unions
Fissures between the DPL union and the contractual employees’ union, who have displayed a united front so far, also became increasingly apparent following mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu’s December 7 visit.
A faction of contractual employees, led by Jagwinder Singh Grewal, have abstained from the protest site over the last two days.
Sandhu had given assurances on taking up the issue of hiring contractual staff for 500 vacant posts of the university, while retaining the DPL staff on contractual basis.
