3 min readMar 24, 2026 09:52 AM IST
First published on: Mar 24, 2026 at 09:52 AM IST
The outsourced employees of Punjab Roadways, PRTC and PUNBUS staged gate rallies across Punjab on Monday, two days after the resignation of former Punjab transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar. The rallies, held from 10 am to 12 in the afternoon at depots across the state, were organised by the PRTC-PUNBUS Contract Workers Union as part of their ongoing agitation.
The protests highlighted a range of issues, including non-payment of salaries, opposition to policy decisions taken during Bhullar’s tenure and employees yet to released from Sangrur jail arrested during last year’s agitation.
Union leaders said nearly 4,500 outsourced employees are yet to receive their salaries this month and raised serious concerns about the department’s functioning. “Employees working on meagre wages are struggling to run their households, but the government and management remain unconcerned,” said union leaders. The leaders also said the unions have also announced another protest outside the PRTC head office on March 25 if salaries are not released.
This comes after Bhullar’s resignation on Saturday following developments in the suicide case of Punjab Warehousing Corporation (PWC) district manager Gagandeep Singh Randhawa. Bhullar has has been arrested in connection with the case.
Sehajpal Singh Sandhu, state vice-president of the union, said, “This was already an announced programme by the union regarding our pending demands. However, after the recent developments, we have also sought strict action.”
A key demand raised during the protests was the release of ten outsourced Punjab Roadways employees from Sangrur jail who are in jail since November 29, 2025. They were booked under various charges, including attempt to murder following an incident during a statewide strike against the kilometre scheme for private buses. “Our primary demand is the release of our employees,” Sandhu said.
Outsourced employees’ bus workshop union president Harjinder Singh Gora, chief advisor Veer Chand Sharma, vice-presidents Beant Singh, Ekam Singh and Jaspal Singh Rajpura, along with press secretary Sandeep Kumar Bawa, alleged that the state had earlier admitted during Assembly sessions that outsourcing leads to employees’ exploitation.
However, they claimed that contractors — allegedly close associates of leaders from previous governments — continue to benefit, resulting in an annual loss worth crores to PUNBUS /PRTC in the form of GST and commissions.
Gora alleged that contractors fail to deposit EPF and ESI contributions on time making deductions from salaries.
The union leaders also claimed that despite promises to end the contractual and outsourcing system, the government is yet to regularise any employee.
The union also flagged pending financial liabilities, stating that over Rs 1,200 crore in free travel dues is yet to be cleared by the government. It is further straining the department’s functioning, they said. The employees alleged that lack of funds has also impacted maintenance, with buses running without adequate spare parts in workshops.
Some employees also raised slogans seeking action against the former minister Laljit Singh Bhullar during the rallies.
Meanwhile there will be a state-level meeting on March 30 to decide the future course of agitation, indicating that the unrest within the transport department is likely to intensify in the coming days.
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