Nawanshahr:- On the call of Municipal Employees Action Committee Punjab, the employees of Municipal Council Nawanshahr went on a complete strike for the third day today. Addressing the protest given on this occasion, IFTU State President Kulwinder Singh Waraich, State Press Secretary Jasbir Deep, District President of Employees Organization Sunny Baghania, Nawanshahr President Suraj Khosla, Chairman Deepak Khosla, Bhavadhas President Vicky Gill addressed the gathering. They said that the municipal employees were on a complete strike for the third day across Punjab.
There was a complete boycott of sanitation work across Punjab. More than 150 stations and sanitation workers under corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats across Punjab have gone on a complete strike for regularization of casual workers, raising the minimum wage to Rs. 40,000, implementation of the old pension scheme and other demands. The leaders said that this strike is not our hobby, it is a compulsion! Because 90% of the employees of Punjab are unskilled and only 10 thousand are working on a meager salary. Due to inflation, the livelihood of the households is very difficult.
The government that came to power about 4 and a half years ago came to power by asking for votes with the broom symbol of these same sanitation workers. At that time, the honorable Chief Minister had said that no one in our government would need to hold dharnas or protests, but the opposite happened. The leaders said that the sanitation workers should be made permanent without conditions, the old pension should be restored, salaries should be paid on time and from the government treasury, the minimum wage should be 40000 per month, and if a unskilled employee dies, his family should be given a job.
They said that the Punjab government has been making excuses for a long time. It refuses by giving a meeting. Therefore, now we have prepared for a nationwide struggle. The leaders said that if their demands were not met soon, the Punjab government should be ready to suffer political losses.