Sanitation workers’ bandh call hits normal life across Punjab
Sanitation workers' state-level bandh disrupted normal life across Punjab on July 30, 2026, with markets and commercial establishments shut.
Workers demanding legal action against police officials involved in the Barnala lathicharge of July 22, which injured 22 people including 18 sanitation workers and four police personnel.
The strike since July 8 seeks regular jobs for outsourced staff, salary increase, and restoration of the old pension scheme.
On July 27, cabinet ministers Harpal Cheema and Harjot Singh announced wage increase from ₹10,500 to ₹20,500 monthly for contractual employees, an SIT to probe the police action, and ₹1 lakh assistance for the injured.
Municipal Employees' Union president Gopal Thapar alleged the wage increase is misleading because deductions for EPF and ECR mean workers receive only around ₹17,000, and vowed to continue the strike.
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