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Punjab government gives nod to regularisation of 3.5k Ludhiana MC’s sanitation workers
Punjab government’s local bodies minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar, as a symbolic gesture,handed over appointment letters to over 140 employees; others to get letters in phases over coming days
Fulfilling the longstanding demand of the municipal corporation’s (MC) contractual sweepers and sewermen, the state government regularised as many as 3,542 employees.
State’s local bodies minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar, as a symbolic gesture, on Tuesday handed over appointment letters to over 140 employees at an event organised at Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan.
Hailing the role of sanitation workers, especially during Covid-19 pandemic, the minister said they put their lives at risk to keep the city clean. He added that appointment letters have been handed over to over 140 employees during the event, while the rest of the employees — including 2,428 sweepers and 1,114 sewermen in total — will receive the same in phases in the coming days.
“We expect that the workers will continue their dedicated work. I also urge the Class 4 employees to educate their children so that they can reach the heights,” Nijjar said.
Uncertainty, however, continues to prevail over regularisation of employees above the upper age limit of 42 years for regularisation of jobs. As per MC officials, their number stands at around 1,000. The decision on giving them relaxation remains pending with the state.
Members of the Municipal Employees Sangharsh Committee, led by chairperson Ashwani Sahota and president Jasdev Sekhon handed over a memorandum to Nijjar for the same. The minister, meanwhile, said the matter was being discussed at state level.
Municipal commissioner Shena Aggarwal and local legislators were also present on the occasion.
The MC employees’ union had been mounting pressure on the civic body and state government to regularise the jobs after the previous Congress government issued a notification in regards to the same.
AAP legislators present at the event took a dig at the previous state governments for failing to regularise the jobs, before crediting the Bhagwant Mann-led government for following through on the promise.
Congress leaders, however, maintained that a notification for regularisation had been issued by the previous congress government.
Early ‘Diwali gift’ for contractual employees
Emotions ran high at the event organised to hand over appointment letters to contractual employees at the Guru Nanak Dev bhawan on Tuesday. Dancing to the beats of the dhol, employees hailed the regularisation as an early Diwali gift for them and their families.
A large number of employees gathered at the venue along with their family members. While a large number was not allowed to enter the hall given the shortage of space, they were seen celebrating after the official announcement. Several employees were visibly emotional, breaking into tears after receiving the appointment letters from the minister.
Amit, who has worked as a sewerman for the last 10 year, expressed his happiness, saying, “We have been struggling to get our jobs regularised for a long time and today is a landmark day for us.”
rDrivers, beldars next in line
The Municipal Employees Sangharsh Committee, meanwhile, also raised a demand that the state should also regularise the services of 456 contractual drivers, beldars and other employees working in the MC. Nijjar responded by saying that the process for the same had been initiated.
