Punjab bus services resumed across the state after contractual and outsourced employees of Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS and the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation called off their four-day strike following talks with transport authorities and cabinet minister Harpal Singh Cheema. The workers have postponed the agitation only until October 29, when the Punjab government is expected to take further decisions on their demands.
The strike began on October 21 and disrupted inter-district and interstate bus services connecting Punjab with Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. The restoration brings state-run services back into operation, but the union has warned that an indefinite statewide stoppage could begin if the agreement is not formally implemented by the deadline.
The breakthrough followed a meeting at the PRTC headquarters in Patiala chaired by Cheema, who holds the transport and finance portfolios. According to union members quoted in the report, the agreement provides for outsourced employees to be inducted into direct contractual service. Appointment letters are expected to be distributed on October 26 and 27.
The executive director of PUNBUS has been appointed nodal officer to prepare service rules for contractual employees. The draft is scheduled to be considered at a high-level meeting on October 29 involving the finance and personnel departments. That meeting will also determine whether the proposal requires approval from the PRTC or PUNBUS board of directors, or from the state Cabinet.
The agreement also includes a proposed formalisation of the in-principle withdrawal of police cases registered against transport employees during earlier protests. Home department officials are expected to handle that process. Union member Harkesh Kumar Vicky said drivers and conductors involved in on-duty accidents or earlier disciplinary action would remain eligible for inclusion in the regular cadre if they submit self-declarations stating that the incidents occurred while they were on duty.
The reported package extends beyond employee issues. Existing procurement tenders are to be increased by 25%, adding about 100 buses to PUNBUS and 96 buses to PRTC. The additions include 100 new mini buses intended to strengthen rural and feeder services. Employees dismissed for minor administrative infractions are also expected to be reinstated, while advance-booking staff will either be absorbed as conductors or covered under the relevant legislative act, union members said.
PRTC has separately tied up with Indian Oil Corporation Limited to establish commercial fuel outlets on vacant corporation land at its Patiala headquarters, the Sirhindi Gate workshop in Patiala and the Sangrur workshop. The corporation also plans to introduce electronic ticketing machines across its depots after conductor training, following a pilot at the Patiala depot.
For passengers, immediate service restoration removes the disruption on routes used for daily inter-city travel and connections to neighbouring states. The next operational test will be whether the proposed appointment letters, service rules, fleet additions and employee-related decisions are completed within the timetable set for October 29.
