Non-teaching staff intensify protest ahead of MC elections

As the Municipal Corporation (MC) elections approach, non-teaching employees under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Mid-Day Meal scheme in Punjab ramped up their protests, increasing pressure on the AAP government. On the 13th consecutive day of their pen-down strike and the 19th day of a continuous sit-in outside the Education Department office in Mohali, employees voiced their frustration over unmet demands and issued a warning to the ruling party.

Representatives of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Mid-Day Meal Office Employees Union, including leaders Shobhit Bhagat, Gagandeep Sharma and Rajiv Sharma, met the AAP Cabinet Minister Mohinder Bhagat in Jalandhar today, presenting a letter outlining their demands. The union accused the state bureaucracy of ignoring the directives from CM Mann and the Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, who had promised to address their grievances.

“Despite assurances made during their eighth meeting with Harpal Cheema on December 9, no meaningful progress has been made,” the union leaders stated. The employees are calling for regularisation of their services and an end to alleged unfair salary deductions.