CHANDIGARH, June 12 — Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema met with multiple state employee unions on Thursday, directing administrative departments to expedite decisions regarding job regularization, wage revisions, and social security benefits. The panels represented workers from the veterinary, healthcare, and education sectors, all seeking resolutions to long-standing administrative issues.
During the deliberations, Cheema instructed the Health and Family Welfare Department to design a comprehensive framework to provide life and health insurance policies to Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers and facilitators. The move aims to strengthen the social safety net for these grassroots healthcare providers.
“The CM Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government is committed to addressing the genuine concerns of employees in a constructive manner,” Cheema stated. He added that all legitimate demands would be evaluated on priority to streamline the resolution process.
The finance minister reviewed individual memorandums detailing union grievances. Key issues brought to the table included age relaxation rules for future Master Cadre teacher recruitments, the regularization of long-serving temporary and contractual staff, the establishment of transparent transfer policies, and the reinstatement of various welfare benefits.
Delegations from several prominent bodies participated in the talks, including the Veterinary Pharmacist Action Committee, the Overage Berozgar Union, the Adarsh School Teaching and Non-Teaching Association, and the Punjab AIDS Control Employees Welfare Association. Representatives from the ASHA Worker and ASHA Facilitator Union also presented their specific structural demands during the sessions.
Cheema closed the meetings by ordering department heads to process the valid demands without unnecessary administrative delays, maintaining that the current state government follows an employee-friendly operational philosophy.
