****Group Service-Centre Staff Stage Protest Outside Mini-Secretariat **Demand Regularisation, Pay Hike; Call For End To Private Company Control

****Group Service-Centre Staff Stage Protest Outside Mini-Secretariat
**Demand Regularisation, Pay Hike; Call For End To Private Company Control
*****Strike Ongoing Across Punjab Until Demands Met
Hoshiarpur/Daljeet Ajnoha/June 1
— Group service-centre employees from across the district staged a sit-in protest in front of the Mini-Secretariat for the third consecutive day on Friday, handing a memorandum of demands to Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain . The protesters accused the private company contracted to run the state’s service centres of exploiting staff and demanded that the centres be taken out of private control and regularised under the government.
According to the memorandum, over 400 services are delivered from the service centres, both online and offline, and employees work long hours amid heavy crowds, often unable to take even a 30-minute lunch break. Despite shouldering significant workload including daily surges when new government schemes are launched, employees said they receive only around ₹10,000 per month — a wage that they say has barely changed in the past decade. “Is it fair that a private company ignores our salaries?” the memorandum asked.
Protesters alleged repeated arbitrary salary deductions by the company, delayed and opaque bonus payments, and unexplained cuts under the pretext of service-level agreements (SLAs). They also complained about irregular salary disbursements and the company’s repeated postponement of requests for pay revision.
The memorandum notes that service-centre staff perform services for more than 20 departments, operate outreach services from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm as directed by the Department of Social Development (DSD), and handle nationwide schemes such as the government’s insurance card project. It said a large portion of the fees collected for services goes to the private operator, and urged that funds should flow directly to government coffers to ensure better public service delivery.
The protesters said that after handing a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner on 29 May 2026, the company issued “contract closer” notices to some employees on the same day. They demanded immediate reinstatement of those staff, an increase in wages, and termination of private-company control with immediate regularisation under the government.
The strike has spread across Punjab, the memorandum added, and will continue indefinitely until the demands are met. “We have been living in poverty on ₹10,000 for a long time. We urge the government to consider our plea and address our demands,” the employees said.
The demonstrators appealed for government intervention to end what they described as systemic injustice by the private operator and to ensure fair wages and job security for service-centre staff. They pledged to remain on strike until their demands are implemented.