Bus services were crippled in Doaba region of Punjab on Monday, the first day of the three-day strike called by contractual employees of state transport undertakings (STUs) Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), Punjab Roadways and Punbus.
Despite Monday being a holiday on account of Guru Gobind Singh’s birth anniversary, commuters were at the receiving end of the strike call as rush was witnessed at the bus stands and stops across the region. Many were seen hiring private taxis or heading for railway stations to reach their destinations.
According to reports, at least 90% of STU fleets remained off road with only 10% being operated by regular employees operating on different routes.
To minimise the impact of the strike, the state transport department directed managements of state transport undertakings to deploy their regular staff, including those on desk jobs, to do field duties.
The union, representing nearly 8,200 contract and outsourced employees, is demanding the regularisation of jobs, an issue they have been fighting for nearly seven years. Around 90% of the workforce in these organisations are employed on contract.
Harkesh Singh Vicky, the vice-president of the Punjab Roadways/PRTC Contractual Employees Union, said that the union held a meeting with state transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar to discuss their demands on Wednesday, but the talks ended without any resolution.
“Other demands of the employees include a 5% annual salary increase, reinstatement of suspended workers, end to outsourcing recruitment, action against ‘private transport mafia’ operating near bus stands, cessation of employee blacklisting, and halting the hiring of private buses under the kilometre scheme,” the vice-president of the union said.
He criticised the authorities for their lack of seriousness in resolving the grievances of the employees.
At present, a driver hired on contract earns ₹18,000, while a contractual conductor gets ₹17,000 a month, which is significantly lower than regular employees.
