Patiala, March 21:- Yesterday, the PRTC Workers Action Committee expressed strong protest against the non-payment of salaries and pensions even till March 20. More than 800 workers gathered here also held a rally and for an hour in the form of a protest march, they vented their anger against the Punjab Government, Finance Minister and PRTC management with slogans resounding in the sky and the effigies of the Chief Minister and the Finance Minister were burnt. Today's rally, dharna and protest march were led by prominent representatives of AITC, INTAC, Karamchari Dal, SCBC, CITU and Retired Workers' Brotherhood Union AITC, led by Sarv Shri Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal Convener, members Baldev Raj Batta, Harpreet Singh Khatra, Rakesh Kumar Datarpuri, Inderpal Singh and Mohammad Khalil.
Addressing the protesters, the leaders of the Action Committee said that the Punjab government and PRTC are failing miserably in paying salaries and pensions to more than 10,000 current and retired employees on time or they have become so unscrupulous that they do not even realize how the employees whose only source of livelihood is the salary-pension received in exchange for their jobs will be able to survive, how they will pay the fees of their children, installments of loans taken to build houses etc., essential food and drink for the kitchen, medicines for diseases and other social responsibilities. The Punjab government sometimes announces free travel facilities and sometimes votes to give one thousand women at the expense of all the employees. The employees who work day and night are paying the price. Because the Punjab government has buried more than 600 crores in exchange for free travel, out of which money is not being given for salary-pension. Not even half of the amount due has been kept in the budget. The monthly grant of Rs 6.5 crore, which was being given for pension since the past, has been stopped. Workers have various arrears of Rs 125 crore, retirement benefits of retired employees are not being paid for 2 years. Medical treatment of elderly retired pensioners is not being paid for more than a year. Apart from this, the management is completely ignoring the legally enforceable demands of the workers and is even considering the laws and courts as a point of reference. The government is not allowing its own PRTC buses to ply. From which it is clear that the government is supporting the private bus mafia. While the PRTC is not being given any money to buy government buses. By putting 100-200 private buses under the kilometer scheme, it is being shown that the government is putting buses.
The leaders of the Action Committee have warned the Punjab Government and PRTC Management that the trust of the workers is waning. Today's gathering was a clear indication of the anger and frustration of the workers that they are ready to embark on tough trade union struggles in the near future. It was also announced today that if the salary and pension are not paid on the first day of every month, then protests will be held on the 5th and now on April 6, more than 1000 employees will hold a massive protest in front of the Patiala head office.