- By Chetna Shree
- Wed, 09 Jul 2025 11:53 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Over 200 PRTC and Punjab Roadways buses are likely to be affected on Wednesday, following a three-day statewide strike from July 9 to July 11. The three-day strike was called by Punjab Roadways, Punbus, and PRTC Contractual Workers Union to protest against the policies of the government and press for several long-pending demands of the union.
The union is demanding job regularisation for around 8,200 contractual and outsourced drivers and conductors, abolition of contract-based hiring, rollback of the PRTC kilometre scheme and induction of new buses in the fleet.
Explaining the route disruptions, the official said, “Ludhiana bus depot operates a fleet of around 250 buses, including 115 Punjab Roadways and 135 PRTC buses.” Over 80 per cent of the operations are being conducted by contractual workers who are expected to join the strike.
Shamsher Singh Dhillon, State General Secretary of the Union, said, “We have held several rounds of meetings with the state government, but they have consistently failed to fulfil their promises. This has forced us to go on strike time and again. It’s been a year since Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced the formation of a committee to address our demands during a meeting on July 1, 2024, held during the Jalandhar bypoll. Yet, nothing has moved forward. Hence, they have left us with no other choice but to protest.”
Several Routes To Be Affected Amid Three-Day Strike
The three-day statewide strike is likely to impact bus services on 50 major routes. Some of the prominent interstate routes that are likely to be affected are Delhi, Katra, Jaipur, Ambala, Manali, Manikaran, and Chintpurni, leaving thousands of daily commuters in the lurch.
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Local routes connecting Ludhiana to Payal, Raikot, Machhiwara, Sultanpur, Fazilka, Nakodar, and Shahkot will be hit hard, as most of the drivers and conductors working here are contractual employees.
The General Manager of Punjab Roadways at the Ludhiana Depot, Navraj Batish, said, “This is not a complete shutdown. We have assigned duties to ensure that operations continue on major routes. However, since a majority of our workforce comprises contractual and outsourced employees, routine services will be significantly affected.”
