Call off strike or face termination, Punjab transport dept warns agitating contractual employees

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, addressing the media, said his doors are open for dialogue. “I understand that the employees have a democratic right to protest, but they should make sure that the people are not inconvenienced. I understand their economic and social pressures,” he said, inviting the protesters to the table for a discussion on their demands.

The Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) and Punjab Roadways have about 5,000 outsourced and contractual employees, who have been protesting across the state since Friday, causing inconvenience to hundreds of commuters. Bus services in parts of the state remained affected on Saturday also as employees of the Punjab Roadways, Punjab State Bus Stand Management Company Limited (PUNBUS) and the PRTC continued their protest.

A government functionary told The Indian Express, “We have issued them notices. They have been asked to call off their strike and return to work. Since there is not much load on buses on weekends, we can do with 50 per cent operations. On Friday also, 55 per cent of our buses were plying. We are just waiting for them to return to work. If the notices do not yield, then we will have no option but to terminate their services. They are contractual and outsourced employees. They can only be terminated. They cannot be put under suspension.”

The employees stated that in the last four years, the government had not added a single new bus to the existing fleet. The buses were in bad shape and needed repairs.

The government’s public transport system has been facing several problems due to a lack of funds. The Punjab government’s free bus travel scheme for women also requires the government to shell out about Rs 600 crore.