2-hour strike by contractual roadways staff at bus stand inconveniences passengers

Passengers suffered inconvenience with the Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS, PRTC Contractual Workers Union observing a two-hour strike and staging a protest in front of the Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) to impress upon the government to accept their long-pending demands here on Wednesday.

Raising slogans in support of their demands, the union observed strike for two hours from 10 am to 12 pm. As the Transport Minister could not attend meeting with representatives of the union, a delegation of the Transport Department officials participated in it. However, the meeting remained inconclusive and irate members of the union went on strike thereafter.

The union warned of going on an indefinite strike if their concerns were not addressed in the proposed meeting with the Punjab Transport Minister on October 29. The union said it would mobilise its members to work against the ruling party candidates in the forthcoming by-elections for the four Assembly seats in Punjab. Their main demands relate to regularisation of at least 800 contractual employees and hiring of 3,500 outsourced employees on contract basis, the union said.

Passengers bore the brunt as a large number of them could be seen sitting and standing at the ISBT waiting for the bus operations to resume. It was only in the afternoon that the services of state-run buses resumed. Loss for government-run buses meant gain for private buses which ferried a large number of passengers. Eyewitnesses at the ISBT said private operators raked in the moolah with even women passengers queuing up to board their buses. It may be mentioned that passengers have been preferring government buses over private bus service since the introduction of free travel for women passengers.