Punjab: The Punjab Roadways, Punbus, and PRTC Contract Workers Union called off their strike on Tuesday after reaching a written agreement with the Punjab government following discussions with senior transport officials. The strike had disrupted Punbus services for two days, while PRTC employees were set to halt operations from Tuesday afternoon. The proposed shutdown was averted after the government invited union representatives for talks just before the deadline.
Meeting Details
The meeting, chaired by the principal secretary of transport, was attended by senior department officials and union representatives. According to union functionary Harkesh Kumar, also known as Vicky, the government agreed to initiate the process of withdrawing cases against arrested protesters and to send the relevant proposal to the home department within three days.
Regularization and Bus Procurement
On the issue of regularization, the department agreed to forward its report to the personnel department and consider outsourced workers with three or more years of service for contractual absorption. Both issues are to be addressed within a month, the union stated. The government also assured the union that new state-owned buses would begin arriving within a month and that no expansion of kilometre-scheme bus operations would be undertaken. The scheme is currently under a court stay.
Future Meetings
The union said a meeting with the transport minister would be held within the next few days to discuss issues related to blacklisted employees and rejected appeals. "The department has given its commitment in writing and has assumed responsibility for resolving the pending issues," Vicky said. The union, however, warned that it would resume agitation if the assurances were not implemented.
Bus services are expected to resume on all routes immediately.
