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More than 2000 buses did not ply in entire Punjab, passengers were in trouble

 



Commuters today faced inconvenience at several places in Punjab due to the strike called by contractual employees of a state transport undertaking to press for various demands.

Commuters today faced inconvenience at several places in Punjab due to the strike called by contractual employees of a state transport undertaking to press for various demands.

As per PTI reports, the protesting employees claimed that over 2,000 buses of state-run Punbus did not hit the roads from various bus depots during the state-wide protest.

Commuters were affected at various places like Ludhiana, Moga, Amritsar and Ferozepur. Some commuters told PTI that they had to opt for private buses or taxis to reach their destinations.

Why are contract workers protesting?

Employees are protesting against outsourcing of 28 posts of drivers. Their demands include cancellation of recruitment through outsourcing and better recruitment policy for the department.

An employees' union leader in Ludhiana said the next decision on the strike would be taken after a meeting with the government in Chandigarh on Monday.

In Amritsar, Jodh Singh, vice-president of the protesting employees union, said buses would remain off the roads until their demands were met.

They said their demands also included immediate payment of the promised five per cent hike to temporary workers.


This is not the first strike of contract employees. Earlier in October, several contractual employees of state-owned Punjab Roadways and Punbus blocked traffic on the Chandigarh-Kharar highway to protest against the alleged "outsourcing" of the recruitment process by the state transport department.

The road blockade that lasted for over two hours caused inconvenience to the commuters as the highway and neighboring roads were heavily jammed. The protesting employees had parked buses on the highway to stop vehicular movement and raised slogans against the state government.

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