Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 18

On a call of the Punjab-UT Employees and Pensioners Joint Front and the Joint Teachers’ Front, a large number of employees, especially teachers, staged a protest outside the residence of Cabinet minister Om Parkash Soni on Sunday. Protesters announced that thousands of employees would take mass leave and pariticipate in a ‘Hall Bol’ rally on July 29.

Member of the association, Gurdeep Singh Bajwa, said instead of rationally increasing salaries and allowances through the 6th Pay Commission, the state government has imposed heavy cuts to inflict huge financial burden on employees.

Members of the front had been demonstrating against non-regularisation of contractual employees in government departments, handing over of employees to corporate system through new pension system and implementation of the Modi government’s pro-privatisation plan under the New Education Policy 2020.

Agitators staged dharna in front of 12 Cabinet ministers across the state today.

Ashwani Awasthi, Balkar Valtoha, Jarmanjit Chhajalwadi, Sukhdev Pannu, Joginder Singh, Madangopal, Sukhwinder Mann, Sant Sevak Sarkaria, Aman Sharma and Narinder Pradhan addressed the rally.

Protesting employees said all decisions taken by the Cabinet Sub- Committee with Sanjha Adhyiapak Morcha on March 5, 2019 and by the Chief Principal Secretary on June 25, 2021 should be implemented and cases registered during should be dismissed.

The implementation of the Central Government’s New Education Policy 2020 should be stopped in Punjab. Resolve issues of open distance learning teachers and 180 ETT TET pass teachers. Employees affected by Covid-19 should be given paid leave and ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh.