The ongoing strike by employees of Service Centres (Sewa Kendra) across the district continued on Monday, severely affecting public services and causing inconvenience to citizens visiting the centres for various government-related works.
Due to the strike, operations at Service Centres remained disrupted, leaving many people struggling to avail themselves of essential services such as birth and death certificates, income and residence certificates, pension-related work and other government facilities. Several visitors were seen returning disappointed as their applications and service requests could not be processed.
To press for their demands, Service Centre employees staged a protest outside the District Administrative Complex and raised slogans against the Punjab Government. Addressing the gathering, Service Centre Employees Union president Sandeep Singh said that employees have been serving at the centres for nearly a decade but continue to receive a meagre monthly salary of only Rs 10,000.
He stated that despite repeated requests and representations, the government has neither increased their salaries nor addressed their other pending demands. According to him, it has become extremely difficult for employees to support their families on such low wages, especially in the present economic conditions.
Sandeep Singh further alleged that while employees are expected to perform their duties efficiently and handle a significant workload, they are not being paid wages commensurate with their responsibilities. He urged the government to take immediate steps to improve their service conditions and revise their salaries.
The protesting employees warned that if their demands, including a salary hike, are not accepted soon, they would be compelled to intensify their agitation and launch an indefinite strike. They said the responsibility for any further disruption of public services would rest with the government.
