PRTC, PUNBUS employees begin 2-day strike in Punjab; passengers in trouble as protestors park over 3,000 buses

Gurvinder Singh, Secretary of the Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS, PRTC Contractual Worker Union, said the main demands of the protesting employees are regularisation, salaries at par with regularised employees, an end to outsourcing new recruitments, resolving issues plaguing the buses and the tires and reinstating those who were suspended due to minor reasons.

Dalbir Singh, a protesting conductor, said, “We acknowledge that the protest is causing considerable inconvenience to the public, but we feel compelled to take this step. The government bears direct responsibility for this situation. If our demands are not met, we may resort to actions such as blocking highways.” He emphasised that he has been working on a contractual basis for nearly a decade and receives a meagre salary.

Main demands of the protesting employees are regularisation, salaries at par with regularised employees, an end to outsourcing new recruitments, resolving issues plaguing the buses and the tires and reinstating those who were suspended due to minor reasons. (Express photo)

Meanwhile, the non-availability of buses left several people in the lurch. Passengers, particularly women, who qualify for free travel on Punjab government buses, experienced significant hardships due to the strike on Tuesday.

“I was unaware that there was a government bus strike today (Tuesday). When I arrived at the bus stand to travel to Amritsar for an evening function at my relative’s place, I found government buses were not operating. Now I am returning home,” said Harbans Kaur, a resident of Jalandhar’s Bhargo camp in Jalandhar. She further questioned why the government is not addressing the demands of the employees.

Another daily commuter, Balwinder Kumar, who travels from Jalandhar to Ludhiana in PRTC buses, said the timings of the buses suit him. As a small trader, Kumar frequently visits Ludhiana to procure goods for his shop. However, due to the strike, Kumar was left stranded on Tuesday as the private buses were overcrowded.

Another passenger at PAP Jalandhar Chowk, where buses halt to pick up passengers, said no private bus is stopping because they are all packed with people. The passenger, who didn’t wish to be named, said, “I have to reach Hoshiarpur, but the buses are overcrowded. I am now moving towards the bus stand and hopefully, I’ll get a place to sit.”