Recurring Strikes Expose Punjab Government's Failure to End Contract Employment

Punjab News Express

Aug 3, 2026 - 21:35

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Recurring Strikes Expose Punjab Government's Failure to End Contract Employment

By Satinder Bains

CHANDIGARH: The three-day statewide strike by employees of Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) has once again exposed the growing disconnect between the AAP government's promises and the reality on the ground. Despite repeated assurances from the Bhagwant Mann government to regularise contractual employees, labour unrest across government departments continues unabated.

The Roadways and PRTC employees have launched what is their fifth major strike this year, demanding regularisation of contractual staff, an end to the controversial kilometre scheme under which private buses are hired to operate on government routes, reinstatement of suspended employees, and filling of vacant posts.

The strike has disrupted bus services across Punjab, inconveniencing thousands of commuters, particularly students, office-goers and rural passengers who depend on the state-run transport network.

The agitation assumes significance because it comes despite several rounds of talks between employee unions and cabinet ministers. Meetings held by Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar and other senior ministers have failed to produce any concrete breakthrough, with unions accusing the government of making repeated promises without implementing them.

The latest agitation has also revived questions over the AAP government's flagship promise made before the 2022 Assembly elections that all eligible contractual employees would be regularised. More than four years after coming to power, thousands of employees across departments continue to work on contractual, outsourced and temporary arrangements.

The transport sector remains one of the worst affected. Employee unions allege that instead of strengthening the state-owned Roadways and PRTC fleets, the government is increasingly relying on kilometre scheme buses operated by private contractors. They claim the policy weakens public transport, affects permanent employment opportunities and eventually paves the way for privatisation.

In a video message released on Sunday evening, union state president Resham Singh Gill said the employees had served strike notices on the government, but no concrete decision had been taken despite repeated meetings.

“We have been assured several times that our demands would be addressed. Even during a meeting with the transport management on Thursday, we were given assurances but no notification was issued. As a result, all contractual workers of Punjab Roadways and PRTC joined the strike from Sunday midnight,” Gill said.

The unrest is not confined to the transport department alone.

Employees working at Sewa Kendras across Punjab have also been protesting against the contractual employment system, demanding regularisation, job security and better service conditions. Similar protests have periodically been witnessed among outsourced workers in health, education, municipal bodies, water supply and other government departments.

Labour organisations argue that despite repeated announcements about ending exploitation of contractual employees, outsourcing has continued under different models, leaving thousands of workers without pension benefits, job security or equal pay for equal work.

Political observers point out that the repeated strikes indicate growing dissatisfaction among sections of the government workforce that had strongly supported the AAP in the 2022 Assembly elections. Frequent disruptions in public transport and government services have also begun affecting the government's governance narrative.

The opposition has seized upon the issue, accusing the Bhagwant Mann government of failing to honour one of its biggest electoral commitments. Opposition parties maintain that while the government frequently highlights recruitment drives and governance reforms, it has failed to evolve a comprehensive policy for absorbing contractual employees who have been serving the state for years.

Employee unions have warned that if the government fails to announce a time-bound policy on regularisation and address other pending demands, they will intensify their agitation in the coming weeks. With transport employees staging their fifth strike in less than a year and contractual workers in several other departments also on the warpath, the issue has emerged as one of the biggest labour challenges confronting the Punjab government.

For the Bhagwant Mann government, the recurring strikes represent more than an industrial dispute. They have become a test of credibility over a promise that helped it secure a massive electoral mandate—ending the uncertainty surrounding contractual employment in Punjab's government sector.