bhagwant Mann Govt Committed To Address Punbus / Prtc Contract Workers’ Demands, Review Meeting On October 29: Harpal Singh Cheema

Oct21,2026 | Jagrati Lahar Bureau | Chandigarh

*Bhagwant Mann Govt Committed to Address PUNBUS / PRTC Contract Workers’ Demands, Review Meeting on October 29: Harpal Singh Cheema*

*Regularisation of Punbus Contract Workers on PRTC Pattern to Be Taken Up at High-Level Meeting: Harpal Singh Cheema*

*Bhagwant Mann Govt Reviews Transition of Outsourced Punbus Staff to Contractual Jobs Under 2026 Act: Harpal Singh Cheema*

*Govt to Deliberate on Cancellation of Police Cases Against Transport Workers During Past Agitations: Harpal Singh Cheema*

*Minister Harpal Singh Cheema Directs Transport Department to Act Immediately on Contract Workers’ Legitimate Demands*

CHANDIGARH; 21st October 2026:

Punjab Finance and Transport Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday held a key meeting with representatives of the Punjab Roadways Punbus/PRTC Contract Workers Union Punjab 25/11 to address their concerns and resolve key matters.

During the meeting, Transport Minister Harpal Singh Cheema issued clear instructions to the Transport department to take immediate, result-oriented action on the union's legitimate demands, prompting the department to promptly issue official orders to initiate the redressal process.

Following the Transport Minister's directives, the Punjab State Bus Stand Management Company Limited (PUNBUS) has scheduled a high-level review meeting on October 29, 2026, under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema.

The agenda of the proposed meeting focuses on finalising the rules to regularise PUNBUS contractual workers on the pattern of PRTC, reviewing actions taken to transition PUNBUS outsourced employees to contractual status under the Punjab State Outsourced Personnel (Transition to Contractual Engagement) Act 2026, and deliberating on the cancellation of police cases registered against workers during past agitations.

In line with these measures, PUNBUS management has directed all Depot Managers across the state to expedite the verification of outsourced staff eligible for contractual transition.

The orders stated, "As per the guidelines issued under the Act by the Department of Personnel, depots must verify the records of personnel with up to 5 years of service based on the cut-off date of May 30, 2026, and submit comprehensive compliance reports by October 26, 2026, ahead of the ministerial review. Field officials have been cautioned that strict accountability will be fixed and any delay, negligence, or discrepancy in verifying service records will invite direct departmental action against the responsible depot authorities."

During the meeting, Resham Singh Gill, Samsher Singh, Harkesh Kumar, Balwinder Singh Rath, Jatinder Singh, Pardeep Kumar from Punjab Roadways Punbus/PRTC Contract Workers Union Punjab 25/11 raised their issues and concerns.

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