Contractual employees of Punjab’s state-run road transport corporations on Sunday evening called off their strike after a marathon meeting with Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar.
The development comes as a relief for commuters, who had been at the receiving end as bus services remained hit by the three-day strike, which ended on Sunday.
Bus services resumed after talks held in Tarn Taran district between the minister and representatives of Punjab Roadways, Punjab State Bus Stand Management Company Limited (Punbus), and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) Contract Workers Union.
The meeting lasted around six hours on Sunday.
Bhullar said the drivers and conductors have been assured that their genuine demands would be addressed.
He said employees suspended during the agitation would be reinstated and added that the protesting staff would not interfere in the kilometre-based bus scheme.
The minister said the government is committed to employee welfare while ensuring smooth public transport services.
He further said that all issues could be resolved through dialogue and confirmed that government bus operations have been restored in the state.
A union representative said the minister had promised reinstatement of suspended and dismissed staff and committed to adding 1,000 new buses. He also assured that detained employees would be released.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had on Saturday urged the protesting contractual staff to resume duty and engage in talks with the government. The same day, PRTC had dismissed 22 contractual employees and issued show-cause notices to several others.
The contractual workers had planned a state-wide protest on Friday against the opening of tenders under the kilometre-based bus scheme, which they claimed would lead to privatization.
Ahead of the protest, several union leaders were detained, triggering clashes at multiple locations.
In Sangrur, the protest turned violent when some workers climbed atop buses and splashed petrol on police personnel attempting to bring them down.
The Station House Officer of Dhuri police station sustained burn injuries after his uniform caught fire. Police booked 10 protesters in connection with the incident.
Commuters across several parts of the state faced inconvenience during the strike.
The protesters claimed the kilometre scheme was a “backdoor attempt” to allow private players to operate on government-notified routes, threatening thousands of jobs in the state transport sector.
Under the scheme, private operators lease buses to the transport department and are paid a fixed rate per kilometre.
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