Hoshiarpur (Punjab), February 12 In a relief for commuters, contractual employees of the state-owned Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS, and PRTC called off their strike on Thursday after talks with state government officials.
A member of the Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS, and PRTC Contract Workers Union said that they have been assured by the government officials that those union members who were apprehended during the agitation last November would be released.
The contractual employees went on strike on Wednesday protesting against the non-release of union members and also the privatization of bus service through the kilometer scheme.
The strike had hit bus services across Punjab, causing hardship to passengers.
Union member Shahmsher Singh Dhillon said that they have suspended their strike following an assurance that their union members would be released.
Earlier in the day, the union's state president, Resham Singh Gill, alleged that the Punjab government was pushing privatization in various departments and was not addressing long-standing demands of employees, including the regularisation of contractual staff.
He also claimed that several workers were booked under stringent provisions during the November protest against the induction of private buses into the state transport sector.
Dhillon said that they were demanding the release of their colleagues lodged in jail, reinstatement of workers taken off duty, removal of contractors, pay parity, and the addition of more government buses.
He alleged that more workers were detained on Thursday when the union planned to intensify protests for the release of jailed colleagues.
