Public Health employees' anger erupts over non-payment of salaries on time; protest rally held, officials criticized.

Public Health employees' anger erupts over non-payment of salaries on time; protest rally held, officials criticized.

Chandigarh 27 July ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : Today, after 26 days had passed without receiving their salaries for the previous month (June 2026), the anger of the Municipal Corporation's Public Health employees boiled over. At 10:00 AM, they stopped work and staged a sit-in protest at the Water Supply office in Sector 15. The protest was presided over by Union President Harpal Singh. Addressing the gathering—which included Union General Secretary and Federation President Rajendra Katoch, Senior Vice President Harjit Singh, Cashier Hanif Mohammad, and other office bearers like Dharmpal, Jagjit Singh, and Raju—Federation President Gopal Dutt Joshi strongly condemned the officials for the delay in salary payments. He stated that failing to pay salaries on time despite a full month of work is an inhumane act and constitutes the exploitation of employees—something that cannot be tolerated. Union office bearers pointed out the peculiar situation where employees work in one sub-division while their salaries are processed in another, leading to constant confusion as no one is willing to take responsibility. Later, a Union delegation met the Municipal Corporation's Chief Engineer and apprised him of the entire situation. The Chief Engineer spoke to the Special Commissioner's office and assured them that the salaries would be paid immediately.

Addressing the protest, speakers stated that unions and federations—under the banner of the 'Joint Employees' Front' (Sanyukt Karamchari Morcha) formed in collaboration with all struggling organizations in Chandigarh—are preparing for a sit-in protest on August 5, 2026. They are waging a joint struggle for demands such as the regularization of contractual employees who have completed 10 years of service, bringing outsourced staff directly under the departments with a formal regularization policy, implementing the principle of 'equal pay for equal work,' reinstating employees dismissed from Public Health and other departments, and securing provisions for uniforms, raincoats, safety equipment, and children's allowances. However, officials are adopting an irresponsible attitude by diverting attention toward trivial issues. This conduct was strongly condemned, and a warning was issued that if salaries are not paid within two days, sit-ins and protests would resume. They appealed to all employees to participate in the August 5 protest in large numbers.