Punjab Roadways call off strike after reaching consensus with government, buses to run as usual
PTC News Desk: The Punjab roadways on Sunday evening called off their strike after reaching an agreement with the government. The government buses will now run as usual, days after massive protest.
The decision was taken during a meeting held with Punjab Transport Department Cabinet Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar regarding the demands of the Roadways employees. In the meeting, the leaders of the Roadways union agreed to the tender under the kilometer scheme, and an agreement was also reached on other demands.
Union leaders including Bhagat Singh raised the issue of unfair cases filed by the government against union members and demanded regularization of contract workers. During the discussion, Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar assured the leaders that if they end their strike and return to work by withdrawing their opposition to the kilometer scheme, the arrested union leaders will be released unconditionally and reinstated.
Public transport services across Punjab were thrown into chaos after contractual employees of Punjab Roadways, Punbus, and the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) launched an indefinite strike.
Transport unions have long opposed the kilometre scheme, alleging it promotes corruption and allows private operators to run buses on state-notified routes. According to union leaders, this is a “backdoor entry” for private players and will weaken the state-run transport system, cause large-scale job losses, increase unemployment, push up travel costs for ordinary passengers and burden the public with unreliable services.
- PTC NEWS
