Undeterred by the notices issued by the Punjab Government to the protesting contractual and outsourced workers of PUNBUS, Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), and Punjab Roadways asking them to return to work forthwith, the agitators have decided to gherao the Chief Minister’s Siswan farmhouse on Friday to further press for their demand.
The Government has warned the protesting employees of strict action if they do not return to work.
The decision came after the talks between the protesting workers and the state government remained inconclusive. The protestors also closed the entry-exit points of all bus stands across the state for two hours after their talks with the Government on various demands of contractual and outsourced employees failed.
The passengers faced a lot of problems, while, at some places, the protestors also had altercation with the private bus operators.
Around 2,000 employees of PRTC across the State have been on indefinite strike since Monday. Due to the ongoing strike, the general public is facing a lot of trouble. At the same time, the Government is also facing a loss of crores of rupees every day as out of 1,100 buses of PRTC, only 300 buses are plying on their route. Among the protestors are the workshop staff, advance ticket bookers, drivers and conductors in large numbers.
Union president Resham Singh Gill said that the workers were being assured in the meeting that the Government is preparing a plan to regularize them and an Act will also be tabled in this regard. “But when the employees wanted to raise their issues, the officers did not listen,” he alleged. Gill said: “When we demanded to hold talks with the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder, they wavered. We were asked to first call off the strike and only after that we can meet the Chief Minister. So now, we have decided to gherao the CM residence on September 10.”