Balachaur, November 10 (Jatinderpal Singh Kaler):- The protest being held outside the office of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Punjab, on the call of the Land Mortgage Bank Employees Union Punjab, entered its 21st day today. For the past three weeks, employees have been sitting on the streets demanding their legitimate rights, but neither the Punjab Government nor the Registrar’s office has taken any notice of their concerns so far. This has led to widespread resentment among the employees.
Employees of the Punjab State Cooperative Agricultural Development Bank from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar and Hoshiarpur districts participated in today's state-level protest. The protest was led by Kamalpreet Singh, President of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, and Joginder Pal, President of Hoshiarpur district. The participating employees raised strong slogans against the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Chandigarh, and the Punjab Government, demanding the immediate acceptance of their long-pending demands.
On this occasion, both district presidents, along with Harmesh Kumar, Manager of PADB Balachaur, who also holds the additional charge of Banga, and Mangat Ram, Manager of Nawanshahr, stated that the Board of Directors had already approved the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission in 2023. Despite this approval, employees are still being denied their due benefits. They further said that the employees' union had also won its court case concerning the Pay Commission in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, yet the government continues to remain indifferent.
The employee leaders warned that if their demands were not accepted soon, the agitation would be intensified further. They said that the employees would not retreat without securing their rights.
Those present on the occasion included Naresh Kumar, Field Officer, Balachaur; Ranjit Singh, Manoj Thakur, Kuldeep Singh, Mandeep Kumar, Kuljit Singh, Shivaekam, Manoj Kumar, Taljinder Singh and others. Meanwhile, PADB Balachaur remained closed as its employees had joined the protest, causing considerable inconvenience to customers.
