PRTC, Punbus contractual employees gherao Congress MLA Raj Kumar Verka’s house

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 12

Congress MLA Raj Kumar Verka announced that he would take up the issue of the Punjab Roadways Punbus Contractual Workers’ Union in the proposed meeting with Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on September 14.

Addressing the members of the union, who gathered outside his residence after carrying out a march, he told them he favoured regularisation of contractual staff. He said the process for the same was underway. Besides, the CM had called a meeting with the Personnel Department and the data for outsourcing the staff has been prepared. “All of you are my guests since you have come at my residence,” he said. The representatives of the union handed over a memorandum to the Congress MLA. They have been on strike seeking regularisation of contractual staff of the Punbus and PRTC for the last one week.

Around 110 buses of the Punbus being operated by the two depots of the district did not ply on Sunday. Most of these buses are operated on long routes from the Shahid Madan Lal Dhingra Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT).

Dharna staged in Tarn Taran as well,  MLAs assure to take up issue with CM

Tarn Taran: The contractual employees working in the Roadways Department on the seventh day of their indefinite strike staged a district-level dharna at the local bus stand on Sunday. In spite of heavy rainfall, agitating employees attended the rally in large numbers. The employees were to gherao the local MLA’s residence for two hours, but they later protested at the bus stand. Dr Dharambeer Agnihotri, local Congress MLA, himself came to receive the memorandum of the agitating employees at the bus stand. The MLA expressed his solidarity with the demands of the agitating employees and assured them to send their demands’ charter to the state government. The leaders said they have been serving the department for the last more than 15 years with meagre salaries. They warned that they would fight till the last to get justice. They condemned the state government for issuing them notices to call the strike illegal and serving them warning in case they do not resume services soon. OC