Civic body drivers go on indefinite chain fast

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 20

Members of the Drivers and Karamchari Union, Municipal Corporation of Ludhiana, have gone on indefinite chain fast to press for their demands. The contractual drivers and Class IV employees, who work on DC rates, have been demanding regularisation of their jobs and filling of vacant posts.

Against the sanctioned 137 posts of driver, there are only 56 drivers. As many as 81 posts have been lying vacant for a long time. The protesters said there were around 300 vehicles, including official cars, trucks and JCB machines, under the MC. Thus, there is a need for more posts, they said while protesting at the Zone D office today.

“Seven drivers will daily sit on hunger strike while the others will do their duty. The drivers will run water tankers and other vehicles so that the public is not inconvenienced. We are also running vehicles of the MC authorities,” said Prithpal Singh.

“Many Class IV employees are driving MC vehicles for the past some time and they should be promoted as driver. The outsourcing of staff should be banned. A number of drivers have been working on DC rates since 1994 or 1998,” the staff said.

A driver on condition of anonymity said: “Owing to the shortage of staff, the drivers are forced to do extra work. We have been demanding for a long time that vacant posts be filled, but to no avail. Our jobs should be regularised. As our voice was being ignored, we were forced to go on hunger strike to wake up the authorities.”

On Day 1 of the protest, Prithpal Singh, Jassi, Sardool Singh, Kamaljit Singh, Parminder Singh, Sandeep Singh and Zakir Hussain, among others, sat on fast.

Pen-down strike at MC offices today

In support of the drivers’ agitation, the MC employees would observe a one-day pen-down strike on Thursday. Superintendent Rajeev Bhardwaj said the pen-down strike had been called by the Municipal Employees Sangharsh Committee.