Roadways employees' meeting with govt inconclusive, protest to continue

Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 14

Protesting Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) and Punjab Roadways employees on Tuesday announced to continue the protest after their scheduled meeting with the state government remained inconclusive. Notably, around 7,000 contractual employees of the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation and Punjab Roadways, demanding regular jobs have been on indefinite strike since December 7.

The union of protesting employees said the government had assured that Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi himself would chair the meeting, however, he did not show up for the meeting. Hence, the scheduled meeting was attended by government officials and leaders of the roadways staff.

After attending the meeting, Resham Singh, state president of the union, said they got neither any notification nor any written assurance about their demands. He said, “We are being pressurised by the government to call off our agitation. However, we will not buckle and effectuate our plan to protest in front of the Chief Minister’s residence on Wednesday.”

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, through a Facebook video, has implored the protesting employees to call off their strike. He said due to the continued suffering the passengers had been suffering every day. He said that the government, a few months ago, had hiked their monthly salary by around Rs 4,500 and assured a five per cent hike every year. The Minister said, “People of Punjab have to endure harassment every day due to the agitation. They need buses to travel for their examinations and jobs, therefore, the government won’t let people suffer. We will be compelled to take action if the strike continues.”