Patiala, August 14 - Implementing its traditional action every year, the Class Four Government Employees Union Punjab (1680) started a hunger strike for 24 hours at the District Administration Complex despite intermittent rain to wake up the government.
A rally was held on this occasion. Addressing the rally, leaders Darshan Singh Lubana, Baljinder Singh, Jagmohan Nolakha, Ram Lal Rama, Gurdarshan Singh, Deep Chand Hans, Shiv Charan leaders said that the AAP government in its current tenure is exploiting employees, pensioners and all unskilled employees, outsourced workers through which contractors are exploiting them.
In the light of the Regulation Act 2016, regularization and the removal of contractors and their employment in the department are not being implemented. The Regulation Act 2023 does not represent the employees who are being regularized. By implementing it in the departments, the employees who are being regularized will be given a fixed salary of only Rs. 15000 and will have to retire on completion of 58 years of age, which is an economic and future exploitation of the employees.
The government should withdraw this and implement the basic pay scale of Rs. 18000/- recommended by the Pay Commission along with annual increments and allowances. It should be implemented on regular, part-time, municipal corporations and municipal councils, including the categories of sanitation workers, sewermen etc. working in the wings of the local government.
In the rally, two dozen demands including withdrawal of the anti-farmer Land Pulping Act, dearness allowance, Pay Commission arrears, regularization of fourth grade employees, abolition of contract system, restoration of forest, old pension, restoration of increment, release of full salary budget in various departments and release of pending salaries, cleaning of rivers and canals, permanent management of stray cattle and dogs, restoration of posts of various categories abolished during the reorganization of various departments, regularization of employees, retirement age to 60 years as per the 1963 rules and minimum wage to Rs. 35000, etc., and settlement of demands related to various departments through talks.
These leaders slammed the Cabinet Sub-Committee Chairman Finance Minister Mr. Harpal Singh Cheema for holding meetings, saying that they are neither just sweeping the dust off the ground nor are they putting anything on the shoulders of any organization.
Darshan Singh Lubana announced that the bodies of the Water Resources Minister and the Additional Chief Secretary of Water Resources will be burnt in front of the canal offices to get the union to cancel the transfers of about 156 Grade IV employees from the Water Resources Department on August 27.
On this occasion, the implementation of solid waste management by the AAP government by ending door-to-door garbage collection in the Municipal Corporations and Municipal Councils, on the lines of the Akali government, was strongly opposed.
A memorandum was signed in three layers, including the demands of employees and pensioners, the demands of outsourced workers including raw employees, the demands of the Forest Department, and the demands of animal husbandry.
Among them were Pritam Chand Thakur, Balbir Singh, Kuldeep Singh Raiwal, Major Singh, Parkash Singh Lubana, Onkar Singh, Mod Nath, Rajesh Golu, Parminder Singh Kamboj, Sham Singh, Nisha Rani, Harbans Verma, Hardeep Singh, Vijay Sangar, Ram Jodha, Tarlochan Maru, Raj Kumar Sanour, Darshan Jodemajra, Amrik Singh, Baljit Bali, Praveen Kumar, Darshan Mulewal, Satnarayan Goni, Arminder Singh. The demands related to the government and the demands related to the departments were received from the leaders after talks with the District Police Chief Mr. Varun Sharma and an assurance was also given to hold talks on them. The ongoing hunger strike and flag march were postponed for further.