Contractual employees of Punjab Roadways, PRTC go on 3-day strike; over 3,000 buses off roads

Chandigarh, August 14

Contractual employees of the state-owned Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation on Sunday went on a three-day strike, demanding regularisation of their jobs and leaving many commuters stranded as over 3,000 buses stayed off the roads.

The strike comes five days after private and mini-bus operators went on a day-long strike to press their demands, including a tax waiver for the Covid-19 pandemic period.

Punjab Roadways, Punbus, PRTC Contract Workers’ Union president Resham Singh Gill said around 8,000 contractual employees are participating in the strike call.

“The employees are on a three-day strike. We have been demanding regularisation of our jobs,” he said.

Around 3,000 buses of Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) stayed off the roads on Sunday, he said.

However, around 200 buses are being operated by regular employees, he added.

Gill said the contractual employees will hold a demonstration against the state government in Ludhiana on Monday.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will hoist the national flag at a state-level function in Ludhiana on the occasion of Independence Day on Monday.

The protesting employees staged dharnas at many places in the state and raised slogans against the AAP government in Punjab.

With most public buses staying off the roads, commuters faced a lot of inconvenience.

“I came from Faridkot and I have to go to Mansa but no public bus is available. Private buses are running full,” rued a woman in Bathinda.

Women commuters who generally prefer to travel in public buses because of the free travel facility were forced to take private buses due to the strike.

One such commuter was Chhindo (60), a resident of Rama Mandi in Jalandhar, who was headed to the shrine of Dera Baba Gur Bar Bhag Singh in Himachal Pradesh’s Una.

At the Hoshiarpur bus stand, there was a huge rush of people going to or returning from various temples in Una, Kangra and Bilaspur districts in Himachal Pradesh.

Jargaron resident Rakesh Kumar said he along with nine of his family members, including four women and three girls, was returning from the Chintpurni temple in Una.

He said he will now have to pay for the tickets of the women and girls who could have otherwise travelled free on a public bus.