Garhshankar:- A joint meeting of Punjab Employees and Pensioners Joint Front, District Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr) and Block Garhshankar was held at Gandhi Park, Garhshankar under the chairmanship of Kuldeep Singh Durka. During the meeting, it was decided that as part of the Punjab-wide protest, employees and pensioners of Nawanshahr and Garhshankar will stage a protest in front of Deputy Speaker Jai Krishan Singh Rori's residence on July 7.
The speakers said that during the protest, a warning letter regarding the long-pending demands of employees and pensioners will also be handed over to the Deputy Speaker. They alleged that the Punjab government did not fulfill the promises made to employees and pensioners during the elections and the government's attitude towards their legitimate demands is extremely negligent and disappointing.
The leaders said that despite continuous protests and court orders, the government is ignoring the demands of employees and pensioners. They alleged that only assurances have been given by the Chief Minister and the Finance Minister, while no concrete steps have been taken at the practical level.
The speakers said that the arrears of the Sixth Pay Commission have not been released yet. Punjab employees and pensioners are getting the lowest Dearness Allowance (DA) compared to other states, while higher administrative officers are being given DA at par with the central government. Apart from this, the 2.59 multiplier for pensioners has not been implemented yet and no relief has been given to honorarium workers.
They alleged that government departments are being handed over to the contractual system, while instead of solving the real issues of the people, people are being misled through populist schemes. They said that resentment against the government is continuously increasing among employees and pensioners and this will be answered in the upcoming elections.
During the meeting, all employees and pensioners were appealed to participate in the protest on July 7 and make it a success. On this occasion, Makhan Singh Wahidpuri, Kulwinder Singh Atwal, Mukesh Kumar, Sham Sundar, Joginder Singh, Jagdish Chander, Ashwani Kumar, Gurnam Singh, Jeet Singh Bagwai, Kamal Dev, Satpal Singh, Joga Singh, Raj Kumar, Pawan Goyal, Gurdial Singh, Balwant Ram, Hans Raj, Amrik Singh, Narinder Mehta, Kulwinder Singh, Parma Nand, Shingara Ram, Kulwant Singh and Surinder Heer along with other leaders were present.