Strike hits Tricity banking & transport

In the public sector banks,the middle and lower-rung staff either stayed away or participated in rallies at Bank Square and other sectors,shouting slogans in support of their demands. Various associations from the banking sector organised rallies and protests as part of the call given by the trade unions of the country.

The employees protested against the Union government and the top management of the banks in support of their demands. They demanded that work of a permanent nature should not be given on contract,pension should be assured for all,and that contract employees should get the same benefits as the regular staff. The banking associations said that if their demands were not met,more such protests would be held.

Transport services were affected after a call was given by the transport unions of Punjab,Haryana and Chandigarh for a two-hour strike,which began at noon. Buses lined up at the Inter-State Bus Terminus at Sector 43 (ISBT-43) and also spilled over on to the adjoining highway,with drivers and conductors refusing to take off for their respective destinations. Buses on several routes towards Punjab and Haryana remained off-road on account of the strike.

Punjab Roadways Workers Union Secretary Mangat Khan said,“We are demanding the proper enforcement of labour laws and are also protesting against the price rise.” However,people who had to travel in the region had to face problems because of the strike call.

Navjot Singh,a retired air-force personnel who had to travel to Jalandhar,said,“I had read about the strike in the papers but I thought bus services in Chandigarh would not be affected. I have no option left but to wait for the services to resume.” Paramjit Singh had to travel with his wife and two small children to Hoshiarpur. “If the buses had moved on time,we would have covered half the distance by now,” he pointed out. Regular commuters like students too faced harassment due to the strike.

Meanwhile,the police had taken measures to prevent any untoward incident during the strike. Sector 36 police station SHO Sukhbir Singh Rana said that 60 cops had been deputed at ISBT-43 as a preventive measure. “The strike has been peaceful but we had deputed a PCR here and were ready to deal with any situation,” he said.

The Powermen’s Union also participated in the strike call. Employees organised protest rallies and raised slogans against the government. Gopal Dutt Joshi,union general secretary,criticised the ‘anti-employees and anti-people’ privatisation policies of the government. The union also opposed the contractual system of employment. CITU Vice-President Chander Shekhar called on the working class to join the fight against the ‘unfair’ government policies. Later the protesters proceeded towards Bridge Market,Sector 17,where a joint rally of Central,state and public sector employees was organised.

The strike received lukewarm response in city government hospitals including Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER),Government Medical College and Hospital,Sector 32 (GMCH-32).

Work was partially hit but the hospital authorities had made alternative arrangements in advance. Hence,the situation was largely under control. Employees on contract,who are part of different unions such as the Contractual Employees Unions of PGIMER and GMCH-32,got together at the Sector 25 rally ground and sat on dharna. They observed a strike for a few hours and later returned to work.