Ludhiana | Ministerial staff’s strike leaves visitors in a lurch
A lot many visitors to the Mini Secretariat, Ludhiana, were a harried lot on Tuesday after a number of public services at 34 different departments remained suspended due to ministerial staff’s strike
A lot many visitors to the Mini Secretariat were a harried lot on Tuesday after a number of public services at 34 different departments, including at the district commissioner’s office and district education office, remained suspended throughout the day due to a pen-down strike by clerical staffers.
Protesting against the Punjab government to seek implementation of the Old Pension Scheme in the state, payment of DA arrears, implementation of the recommendations of the 6th pay commission, regularisation of contractual staff etc, The Punjab State Ministerial Services Union will observe the strike October 15.
Describing the harassment at the district education office, a visitor, Rakesh Upadhyay, said, “I, along with my children, have shifted to Indore. Due to a nominal discrepancy in the migration certificate my children are unable to get admission in Class 9 and 11, respectively. I had taken a leave for two days to complete the documentation, but now I have been told to return next week.”
“As the last date for registration in schools is October 15, they will have to skip this year,” he added.
Akashveer Singh, who came to get his documents attested for a correction in his son’s marksheet, said: “It is my third visit to the office. Now, when I have come with all the documents, the dealing hand is on strike and my documents will not be processed.” He said only the common people suffer because of the strikes.
Echoing the same, Baljinder Kaur, who is pursuing BEd at a college in Rara Sahib, said, “I took a leave from my studies and travelled 40 km to submit my application for the teaching duty, but I have been told that it will be processed only after next week.”
Deputy district education officer Charanjit Singh said, “We are trying to provide services to as many people as possible and are making sure that people do not face any kind of harassment.”
District president of Punjab State Ministerial Services Union Sanjeev Kumar said, “We have been raising our problems before the Punjab government for the past 6 months by holding protests and rallies, but we were forced to go on a strike as nobody from the government has scheduled a meeting with us.”
