Employees of Punjab Roadways, PRTC postpone stir for two weeks

Contractual employees of the state-owned Punjab Roadways and the PRTC on Tuesday postponed their strike for two weeks after assurance for the redress of their demands.The government-run buses, which had not been plying since September 6 because of the strike, will now start operating from Wednesday.

Contractual employees of the state-owned Punjab Roadways and the PRTC on Tuesday postponed their strike for two weeks after assurance for the redress of their demands.

The government-run buses, which had not been plying since September 6 because of the strike, will now start operating from Wednesday. The decision to suspend their strike for 14 days came after a meeting between a group of protesters and Sandeep Sandhu, political adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Addressing the media after the meeting, Punjab Roadways, Punbus/PRTC Contract Workers' Union president Resham Singh Gill claimed that Sandhu had sought eight days to address their demand of job regularisation. On demand of increasing the fleet size, he further said they were assured that 800 new buses will be added. He further said they were also assured of an immediate 30 per cent hike in their salary and five per cent annual increment. "They sought eight days but we gave them 14 and till then, we will postpone our strike," said Gill while warning the state government if their demands were not addressed by then, they will again go on strike on September 29. "From tomorrow, buses will start plying in the state," he announced. He also acknowledged that people were suffering because of their strike call. Around 8,000 contractual employees had gone on an indefinite strike on September 6, demanding regularisation of their jobs and increase in bus fleet size.

Around 2,000 buses of the state-owned Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) were off roads.

Private buses, however, are plying in the state. Besides regularisation of jobs, the protesters are demanding an increase in the fleet size from around 2,500 buses at present to at least 10,000 and measures to check transport mafia. Meanwhile, Haryana Roadways employees held a symbolic two-hour protest at bus depots across the state extending support to the contractual employees of Punjab Roadways and the PRTC.

On the call of the Haryana Roadways Employees Coordination Committee, a symbolic protest was held in Haryana, including Ambala, Sirsa, Hisar and Kaithal.

Haryana Roadways union leaders said during their symbolic two-hour protest, they gave memorandums to the general managers of the depots, which were addressed to the Punjab chief minister.