PRTC contractual employees protest Punjab govt’s move to outsource staff

The PRTC contractual employees’ union also announced to intensify the agitation by blocking highways on August 1 and further intensifying the protest

: The PRTC contractual employees’ union on Tuesday staged a protest here against the Punjab government’s move to outsource over 1,000 employees through contractors and its ‘failure’ to regularise contractual staff, threatening to further intensify their agitation next month if their demands are not met.

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Carrying out the protest at the bus stand here, the employees also opposed the government’s proposal to include 219 buses in the PRTC fleet under the kilometre scheme, wherein private buses will be hired by the department.

The state body also announced to intensify the agitation by blocking highways on August 1. Further, a hunger strike will be observed outside PRTC head office on August 2 and a 3-day strike on August 14, 15 and 16.

The contractual staffers are those who sign a contract with the department while the outsourced staff is recruited through a contractor. There is no direct contract between the outsourced staff and the department.

The employees said that ahead of the assembly elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made tall claims of fulfilling promises made to employees, if voted to power. But now, the department is even struggling to pay salaries to the contractual staff and nothing is being done to regularise them.

“Rather the government is working to recruit 1,378 employees on outsourcing basis. Further, 219 buses are being added to the fleet under kilometre scheme just to benefit the private operators as the government will pay around ₹ 157 crore to private operators in six years,” said Satnam Singh, district president of the employees’ union.

District vice president of the union, Gurpreet Braich said that the agitation will continue until the state government fulfils their demands and regularise the contractual staff.