Punjab: On the death anniversaries of martyrs, roadways employees staged a protest against delayed salaries and privatization.

Punjab: To mark the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, contractual employees of Punjab Roadways, Panbus, and PRTC staged a protest at the Jalandhar depot on Monday. They accused the government of stifling the union’s voice, promoting privatization, and failing to release the salaries of PRTC employees for the past two months. This protest was organized under the banner of the ‘Punjab Roadways, Panbus, and PRTC Contractual Employees Union.’ It was part of a statewide agitation launched in response to the growing discontent among employees over the non-receipt of salaries for the months of January and February. Balwinder Singh Rath, Chairman of the union leaders, stated, “Employees who opposed the ‘Kilometer Bus Scheme’ in recent months were framed in false cases and sent to jail. All of this was an attempt to suppress the voice of dissent. We had repeatedly demonstrated in government meetings that this scheme—under which private operators were permitted to run their buses on government routes in exchange for a fixed fee per kilometer—was causing financial losses to the department.”
He further added, “Despite this, tenders are being approved to benefit a select few private companies, resulting in losses amounting to crores.” The union also accused the government of reneging on its promise to abolish the contractual employment system. Union leaders pointed out that not a single employee has been regularized (made permanent) so far, while the exploitation perpetrated by contractors continues unchecked. They alleged that contractors have failed to deposit EPF and ESI contributions on time and are making arbitrary deductions from employees’ salaries. “Crores of rupees belonging to the employees have been misappropriated, yet no action has been taken,” they asserted. Furthermore, the issue of unpaid salaries has emerged as the immediate trigger for the current dispute. Employees stated that the delay in salary payments is causing them immense difficulty in meeting their basic household expenses; they accused both the government and the management of apathy. Warning of an intensification of their agitation, the union announced that if their salaries were not released immediately, they would stage a protest outside the PRTC head office on March 25. They further stated that plans are also underway to organize a state-wide meeting on March 30 to formulate their future strategy. In Fazilka as well, activists from the Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS, and PRTC Contract Employees Union staged a protest at the main entrance of the local bus stand, demanding the immediate release of their pending salaries. Union leaders Manpreet Singh, Harbhajan Singh, and Surinder Singh pointed out that the employees have not yet received their salaries for the previous month. They alleged that although the government had replaced four contractors, the new contractors failed to deposit the employees’ EPF and ESI contributions. They claimed that, despite this failure, no action has been taken against them. They also expressed regret that the government has failed to fulfill its promise to regularize their services.