Mohali, August 3: Public transport across Punjab came to a grinding halt on Monday after contractual employees of Punjab Roadways and the Punjab Road Transport Corporation initiated a statewide strike. The sudden disruption left thousands of daily commuters, including students, office workers, and women travellers, struggling to secure alternative transport options as major bus depots remained non-operational.
The industrial action stems from unresolved administrative grievances, primarily centered on job security and the status of long-serving personnel. Union representatives maintain that the state administration has repeatedly delayed concrete policy decisions despite continuous dialogue.
Union State President Resham Singh Gill stated that workers were left with no alternative following unfulfilled official assurances. He affirmed that contractual staff had properly served strike notices to authorities prior to the stoppage, yet no formal notification regarding their concerns was produced following recent discussions with transport management. Consequently, all contractual personnel across Punjab Roadways and PRTC joined the strike starting Sunday midnight.
The union demands the formal regularisation of contractual staff who have completed up to twelve years of service in the department. Additionally, leadership maintains that outsourced workers, several of whom have completed sixteen years of duty, should be directly integrated into the departmental contract system. Workers are also seeking the dismissal of police cases filed against members during the demonstrations in November last year.
Union leaders declared that a delegation would meet with Transport Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday morning to discuss these matters. Resham Singh Gill asserted that unless the government issues written assurances addressing their demands, the bus strike will persist indefinitely alongside a planned hunger strike in Mohali near the assembly venue.
