Jalandhar, July 24 -- Sanitation workers' unions have decided to go on a statewide strike from July 26 onwards if the state government fails to address their demands by then. Sanitation workers in various parts of Punjab have been on strike since July 8 to demand regular job contracts for outsourced staff, salary increases and restoration of the old pension scheme. Representatives of various unions from across the state attended a meeting convened by the Punjab State Safai Karamchari Commission in Jalandhar on Thursday, a day after police used force on protesting sanitation workers in Barnala. Commission's government-appointed chairman Chandan Grewal slammed the state government for not adhering to contractual workers' main demand of job regularisation. "The state government has three days to take action against police officials who lathi-charged sanitation workers and to fulfil the regularisation demand. From Monday onwards, all sanitation work, from collection of garbage to dumping and picking, will come to a halt as both regular and contractual employees will go on an indefinite strike," Chandan said. Meanwhile, leaders from BKU Ekta Ugrahan, labourer union, employee unions, along with sanitation workers, conducted a march in Barnala, condemning Wednesday's police action. Demanding legal action against Barnala DSP Satvir Singh and other police officials involved, Kuldeep Sharma, adviser to the Safai Sewak Union Punjab, alleged that they struck female workers on the head with canes. DSP Satvir Singh defended the police action, stating that the protesters attacked the cops first. He said the crowd turned violent unexpectedly, throwing coconut shells and stones at officers stationed at the site, which forced them to use force. Barnala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sarfaraz Alam could not be contacted despite repeated attempts....