Punjab Govt employees extend pen-down strike till Dec 11

Chandigarh, Dec 6 (PTI) Representatives of the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union, who have been on a pen-down strike since November 8, on Wednesday announced extension of their agitation till December 11.
    The decision to extend the strike was taken a day after their talks with a cabinet sub-committee over their demands, including implementation of the old pension scheme, remained inconclusive.
    The salary of nearly two lakh government employees has been delayed due to the strike, the representatives of the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union (PSMSU) had earlier claimed.
    "We today decided to extend our pen-down strike till December 11," said PSMSU president Amrik Singh.
    He lamented that there was no positive response regarding their demands during a meeting with the cabinet sub-committee on Tuesday.
    The demands of the protesting ministerial employees also include release of pending dearness allowance and regularisation of employees.
    The protesters on Wednesday held a 'dharna' in Faridkot to press the state government to accept their demands.
    During the Tuesday meeting, the cabinet sub-committee discussed their demand letter point by point, a government statement had said.
    The cabinet sub-committee, led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, had assured the union that their main demands would be resolved in the coming days, it had said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)