Continuing their agitation for the regularisation of services, municipal employees from different parts of the state staged a protest under the banner of the Municipal Employees Action Committee, Punjab, in Doraha on Tuesday.
Covid norms were flouted as hundreds of protestors blocked the Jalandhar-Panipat highway for around two hours, giving social distancing and masks a miss. The commuters had to face problems as massive traffic jams were witnessed on the highway.
The employees lifted the protest after Payal sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Mankanwal Singh Chahal visited the spot and they handed over the memorandum to him.
Ramesh Gaichand, convenor of the Municipal Employees Action Committee, said that the municipal employees including sweeper and sewermen in over 135 municipal councils and corporations across the state have been on strike since May 13 seeking regularisation.
“Apart from regularisation of employees, we have also been demanding abolishment of the outsourcing system. Employees should be recruited directly. Other demands include implementation of the old pension scheme, increase in pay scale, etc. If the government fails to fulfil the demands, then we will be forced to raise the agitation to the next level, “ said Gaichand.