CHANDIGARH: With the 2027 Punjab assembly elections less than six months away, the AAP-led Punjab Government agreed to release two instalments of dearness allowance (DA) of 4 per cent (combined 8 per cent DA), backdated to July 2023, which will be disbursed on October 1 alongside the September salary.
Eyeing employee vote bank, the move ends a three-week-long standoff with the four lakh state government employees and puts an end to employee agitation.
The breakthrough came during a 90-minute-long meeting between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, cabinet ministers Aman Arora and Baljit Kaur, and 12 representatives of the Sanjha Mulazim Manch (Joint Employees Forum).
Speaking after the meeting, Arora, who had played a crucial role in breaking the deadlock between the government and employees, flanked by cabinet minister Baljit Kaur and leaders of 12 different employee unions, said it was being done as a goodwill gesture till the outcome of the court case, where the decision is pending.
He added that the payout would add a Rs 231 crore burden to the state exchequer.
"Both sides have mutually agreed not to pursue the matter in court and amicably resolve all issues,” Arora said.
He added that the next meeting with the employees will be held in a fortnight, where the remaining issues will be discussed.
Gurnam Singh Virk, the convener of the Sanjha Mulazim Manch, said that while the enhanced DA will be given from October 1, the government has also assured them that all other issues will be discussed soon.
He added that CM Mann had agreed to a follow-up meeting in the first week of October to discuss remaining demands.
However, Virk emphasised that ongoing court proceedings regarding older DA arrears and salary discrepancies would continue unaffected.
Another employee union leader, Satish Rana, said that CM Mann has assured them that issues concerning reverting to the Old Pension Scheme, ending the different pay structure for employees recruited after July 17, 2020 and giving full salary to employees during the probation period will be examined by the government on priority.
Sukhchain Singh Khehra, head of the Civil Secretariat Employees Union, said that staff accepted the government’s immediate offer while keeping avenues open for future negotiations.
The forum rejected a government request to file an affidavit in the high court claiming all disputes had been settled. The employees have been protesting for over a month now, ever since the August 3 judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court that asked the government to clear the Rs 14,191 crore dearness allowance dues of the employees within fifteen days.
The first protest was held by the employees on August 7, where the unions announced a 'Maha Hartal' on August 27. The unions called for a meeting with the CM the same day. Amid the mass casual leave by government employees, the union leaders reached Jalandhar to hold talks with the CM, but he cancelled the meeting.
This led to an escalation in the confrontation, with the government announcing that the mass casual leave would be treated as unauthorised leave.
Later, the government decided not to go ahead with any punitive action.
The state government had previously challenged an August 3 Punjab and Haryana HC order directing it to clear pending DA backdated to 2016 within 15 days or face an 18 per cent annual interest penalty.
The matter remains pending before the Supreme Court.
