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Three months since appointment, Ludhiana school guards, cleaning staff await first salaries
As the festive season passed, workers expressed their concerns, highlighting the hardships faced during occasions like Diwali and Chhath Puja
Three months after the Punjab government’s announcement of deploying chowkidars (guards) and sanitation workers at government schools in August, a disconcerting delay in salary disbursement has left appointed staff, who began their duties in September, in financial distress.
As the festive season passed, workers expressed their concerns, highlighting the hardships faced during occasions like Diwali and Chhath Puja.
It comes in the backdrop of a substantial budget allocation of ₹66.15 lakh for chowkidars in 189 schools and ₹2.36 crores for sanitation workers in 816 schools, spanning September to March.
A couple employed as sanitation workers at a prominent government senior secondary school in Ludhiana shared their predicament, saying, “My husband works the morning shift, and I work the evening shift. The school, with three multi-storeyed buildings and dozens of washrooms, requires constant cleaning throughout our combined 13-hour shift. However, it has been three months, and we have yet to receive any salary.”
A chowkidar working at a government school also rued unfulfilled promises, saying, “Contrary to the assurance and timely pays in the government sector, we are waiting for our salary since the last three months. Others doing the same job in the private sector have not only received salaries but also festival bonuses. We join our duty by 6 am in such cold foggy mornings and yet have not received anything.”
At some of the schools, principals and headteachers have stepped in to make payments from their own pockets to retain these essential workers.
A principal not wishing to be named, said, “They are not getting the perks of a regular government employee, and it is unreasonable to expect them to wait for their salary. To retain trusted employees, we have paid them from our own funds, hoping to get reimbursement once the sanctioned funds are released.”
Addressing the issue, district education officer (Secondary) Dimple Madan said, “We needed attendance and other information regarding their appointment to release salary. Now that the data is complete, and salary bills are ready, the recent strike of ministerial staff has caused a delay in the process.”
