People across the state faced inconvenience as contractual employees of the state-owned Punjab Roadways went on a day-long strike today in support of various demands, including regularisation of their services and raise in salaries.
The protestors did not let buses of Punjab Roadways and Punbus ply in several places, including Ludhiana, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Moga and Jalandhar, forcing passengers to opt for private buses or taxies.
Nearly 3,000 contractual employees of the Punjab Roadways and the Punbus are on strike and around 1,800 buses off the roads, protesting employees said.
Bus services on the inter-state routes and within the state were affected, they claimed.
"We have been fighting for our rights for the past several years. But neither the previous government nor the present paid heed to our demands," Chander Shekhar, vice president of Road Transport Workers Federation, said here.
Protesters have been demanding regularisation of services, hike in salaries and implementation of the Supreme Court ruling of equal work and equal pay.
They said a number of meetings had been held with the senior authorities of the transport department with regard to their demands, but nothing had been done yet.
Protesting employees even blocked the entry and exit points of some bus stands from 12 noon to 2 pm to prevent the movement of buses.
"We are left with no option but to go on strike to press the state government to accept our demands," a protesting employee said in Ferozepur.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)