Punjab Unions' Demands: Govt Steps Up Discussions

**Punjab Cabinet Sub-Committee Engages with Employee Unions to Address Demands** On Monday, a high-level Cabinet Sub-Committee, spearheaded by Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema, conducted extensive deliberations with around a dozen employee organizations to address their key demands and concerns. The committee has tasked relevant departments with fast-tracking actions to resolve valid issues within a stipulated time frame. The intensive four-hour-long meeting took place at the Finance Minister’s office, located in the Punjab Civil Secretariat. It included productive brainstorming sessions between Cabinet Ministers Harpal Singh Cheema, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Dr. Ravjot Singh, and representatives from diverse unions. Employee organizations participating in the discussions comprised the Computer Adhyapak Sangharsh Committee, Centre of Trade Union, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan/Mid Day Meal Daftari Karamchari Union, P.S. TET Pass D.P.E. Union, Berozgar P.S. TET Art and Craft Sangharsh Union, Democratic Teachers Front, Adarsh School Teaching and Non-Teaching Mulazam Union, PowerCom Transco Outsource Worker Union, Maanbhata Worker Sanjha Morcha, Punjab State Ministerial Service Union, and the Joint Action Committee of Vets for Pay Parity. The meeting focused on elaborating each point submitted in the demand letters by union leaders. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema tasked the Principal Secretary of Animal Husbandry Department, Rahul Bhandari; Secretary of Expenditure, V.N. Zade; Secretary of Transport, Varun Roojam; Secretary of Personnel, Gurpreet Kaur Sapra; and Secretary of Education, Anindita Mitra, with promptly addressing the legitimate demands pertaining to their respective departments. Minister Cheema assured the union representatives that their demands would be handled with empathy and committed to resolving them equitably and promptly. He emphasized the determination of the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, to resolve employee concerns through constructive dialogue and expedient action. The meeting was attended by several key union members, including Jolly Singla, Kuldeep Singh, and Kulwinder Singh from the Computer Adhyapak Sangharsh Committee; Dev Raj Verma, Makhan Singh, and Jasmer Kaur from the Centre of Trade Union; and Rajinder Singh, Parveen Sharma, and Jagmohan Singh from Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan/Mid Day Meal Daftari Karamchari Union, among others.