Bus services across Punjab are set to be disrupted as Punjab Roadways contract workers on Tuesday announced a statewide protest demanding the regularization of their services. The protest, spearheaded by various unions representing Punjab Roadways employees, will see all bus stands in the state remain closed for two hours on April 3 (Thursday). This will be followed by a complete three-day strike on April 7, 8, and 9, intensifying pressure on the government to address their long-pending demands.
The protest call comes in the wake of the Punjab Government’s recent budget announcement, which, according to union leaders, failed to include any measures for regularizing contractual employees. They argued that despite multiple assurances from successive governments, no concrete action has been taken to secure their future.
Resham Singh Gill, president of the Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS, and PRTC Contract Workers Union, voiced the collective frustration of the workforce. “We have been demanding job regularization for years. We’ve had discussions with former Chief Ministers Parkash Singh Badal, Capt Amarinder Singh, and now Bhagwant Mann. But nothing has changed. We have been waiting and negotiating for three years, staging small protests, yet the government continues to ignore us,” Gill said.
Union leaders claimed that despite their willingness to engage in dialogue, the Government has consistently sidelined their concerns. According to Gill, the decision to strike was not made lightly. “We initially refrained from resorting to a strike, knowing the inconvenience it would cause to commuters, particularly women. But the government has left us with no alternative,” he said.
Apart from job security, the unions have also urged the Punjab Government to purchase 10,000 new buses to improve the state's public transport infrastructure. They argued that Punjab’s deteriorating public transport system needs urgent investment, both in manpower and fleet expansion, to meet growing commuter needs.
With a two-hour bus stand shutdown on April 3, followed by a full-scale strike from April 7 to 9, the protest is likely to cause significant inconvenience to daily commuters. The strike may impact thousands of passengers, including office-goers, students, and travelers relying on Punjab Roadways services.
