Patiala, May 29:- Today, the Class IV Government Employees Union Punjab (1680 Government Schools), including Class IV employees and Mid-Day Meal workers, held a meeting presided over by Ram Prasad Sahota. During the meeting, strong resentment was expressed regarding the fact that salaries for mid-day meal workers in government schools are not being released on time, they are not being provided with entitled facilities, and they are not being brought under the ambit of minimum wages. Furthermore, it was highlighted that the services of workers who have been working in government schools for a long time are not being regularized.
State President Darshan Singh Lubana, School President Ram Prasad Sahota, Pensioner President Shiv Charan, Water Resources President Baljit Singh, and other leaders addressing the meeting stated that the Aam Aadmi Party government has appointed sanitation workers in 8,200 government schools at a salary of ?3,000 and watchmen at ?5,000, yet they have not even been paid for the past three months. The leaders strongly demanded that the government stop this exploitation and implement the minimum wages issued by the Labour Department, and also requested that these workers be fully utilized/adjusted within the school infrastructure.
The State President stated that in a meeting held with Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains at the Municipal Bhawan, Chandigarh, issues concerning government schools and colleges were raised, including the demand to implement minimum wages in school and college education, but the Education Minister did not respond positively. The Minister’s attention was also drawn to the fact that the policy formulated in 2023 for regularizing Class IV employees in colleges would lead to the exploitation of the staff.
A copy of the court judgment was submitted to Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, with demands including 'equal pay for equal work', abolition of the contract system, and regularization of temporary employees who have completed 3 to 5 years of service, along with relaxation in educational qualifications and age limits. The Finance Minister gave no response other than assurances. Consequently, the union will now enter the field of struggle, where issues like the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme and the abolition of the contract system will be raised.
Leaders present at today's gathering included Charanjit Mardapur, Inderpal Walia, Sonu Pal, Satnam Singh, Kala Singh, Balwinder Singh, Sandeep Kaur, Manju Rani, Dharmendra Singh, Madan Lal, Bhim Pal, Raghvir Singh, Jagga Singh, Narinder Singh, and others.