Bikram Singh Majithia says keeping them waiting for their salaries was an act tantamount to criminal negligence
Urges CM to intervene and ensure police force and health care staff were paid salaries at the earliest
Chandigarh, April 09, 2020: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today condemned the state government for adopting a callous attitude towards front-line fighters against COVID-19 including police personnel and health care workers by not releasing their salaries for the month of March, saying this act was tantamount to criminal negligence.
In a statement here, former minister Bikram Singh Majithia expressed shock and anguish over the inordinate delay in releasing the salaries of Punjab Police personnel and health workers who had put their lives at risk to guard society from the deadly virus. “It is unfortunate that in this difficult time, our protectors are not being paid timely and honorably by the state government”. He said the chief minister should intervene immediately and ensure all the frontline workers were paid their salaries immediately.
Appreciating the role being played by police personnel in the war against the respiratory disease, the SAD leader said “when we all were staying at home to protect ourselves from the virus infection as well as to help the administration to contain it, police personnel helped in maintaining law and order besides assisting in food distribution as well as assisting health workers”.
Speaking about the health care staff who did not receive their salaries since last many months, Mr Bikram Majithia said as per reports widely circulated in the media, a large number of staff nurses particularly from Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot were not being paid their salaries. “As we were passing through a state of health emergency across the country, the state government should not undermine its already critical health care infrastructure by demoralizing its staff with such acts of laxity”. He urged the chief minister to ensure all nurses who had not been paid their salaries be given the same immediately