Punjab Cabinet sub-committee holds productive meetings with employee unions

A Cabinet Sub-Committee comprising Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema and NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, formed to address the legitimate demands and issues of Punjab government employees, held a series of meetings on Wednesday with representatives from the Meritorious Teachers Union, 3704 Adhiyapak Union, Democratic Teachers Front, Purani Pension Prapti Morcha, Khetibari Vidhyarthi Association, and Anganwari Mulazam Union.

During the meeting, representatives of the Meritorious Teachers Union highlighted the achievements of Meritorious Schools in creating a bright future for students and presented their demands and issues.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, on behalf of the Cabinet Sub-Committee, directed the Education Department to consider regularizing the services of these teachers through the officers committee constituted for this purpose. He also instructed that a report on the financial demands of the union be prepared and sent to the Finance Department.

Finance Minister Cheema assured the union that the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, is paying special attention to the demands and issues of employees who are delivering exceptional services.

In the meeting with the Democratic Teachers Front, the Cabinet Sub-Committee directed the Education Department to seek legal opinion from the Advocate General’s Office on the issues raised by the front that are currently in court or may face legal hurdles.

Regarding the financial issues raised by the front, Finance Minister Cheema assured that these matters are being taken seriously by the Finance Department. For the issues raised by the ‘3704 Adhiyapak Union’, the Cabinet Sub-Committee asked the Education Department to hold a meeting with the union and submit a report.

The Khetibari Vidhyarthi Association demanded that agriculture be made a compulsory subject in schools. The Cabinet Sub-Committee, during discussions with the Education Department, asked the department to refer this matter to the Subject Expert Committee. Additionally, the Cabinet Sub-Committee directed the Education Department to consider including agriculture in vocational courses.

The Purani Pension Prapti Morcha raised the issue of resuming the old pension scheme for state government employees. The committee informed the Morcha that the officers committee constituted by the Punjab Government is holding regular meetings to make appropriate decision in this regard.

Finance Department officials apprised the Cabinet Sub-Committee that any further decisions will be taken after receiving detailed guidelines on the new pension scheme, the ‘Unified Pension Scheme’, presented by the Union Government.

Regarding the issue of gratuity raised by the Anganwari Mulazam Union, the Cabinet Sub-Committee directed the Social Security, Women and Child Development Department to seek legal advice and then send the matter to the Finance Department. For the demands related to the Union government, the Cabinet Sub-Committee directed the department to write to the Union government to resolve these issues.

Concerning the difficulties arising from the inclusion of some Anganwadi centers in primary schools, the Cabinet Sub-Committee asked the departments to hold a meeting with Education department to resolve these issues.

The meetings were attended by Dr. Tina, Dr. Ajay, Boota Singh and Ashpreet Kaur from the Meritorious Teachers Union, Vikram Dev Singh, Mohinder Kaurianwali, Gurpiar Kotli, Rajiv Barnala and Sukhdev Singh Dansiwal from the Democratic Teachers Front; Harjinder Singh, Yadwinder Singh and Charanjit Singh from ‘3704 Adhiyapak Union’, Angrej Singh and Akashdeep from the Khetibari Vidhyarthi Association, Gurjant Singh Kokri, Tehal Singh Sarabha and Randeep Singh from Purani Pension Prapti Morcha, and Usha Rani and Gurmeet Kaur from Anganwari Mulazam Union.