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Punjab ministerial staff suspend strike ahead of their meeting with CM
PSMSU president Amrik Singh Sandhu said a seven-member delegation will attend the meeting on behalf of the protesting Punjab ministerial staff.
Punjab State Ministerial Services Union (PSMSU) leaders have decided to suspend their strike ahead of their meeting with chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday. The protesting union decided to temporarily suspend the ongoing pen-down strike after they were invited by the chief minister for a meeting in Chandigarh. “An officer from the chief minister’s office (CMO) called up to fix the meeting. We will meet the chief minister at 12.30 pm at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh for a discussion on our demands. We are looking forward to it,” PSMSU president Amrik Singh Sandhu said.
A seven-member delegation led by Sandhu will attend the meeting on behalf of the protesting ministerial staff. Sandhu said they would decide their next course of action after the meeting. The ministerial staff has been on pen-down strike since November 8 to press their 11 demands, including implementation of the old pension scheme (OPS), release of three pending dearness allowance (DA) instalments, regularisation of contractual employees and reinstatement of accelerated career progression. Their strike had delayed the salaries of nearly 2 lakh government employees and pensions of beneficiaries under various welfare schemes across the state. The PSMSU leaders had held a meeting with a cabinet sub-committee headed by finance and taxation minister Harpal Singh Cheema on December 5, but their talks were inconclusive with the union leaders accusing the state government of not giving any firm commitment on their demands.
