Punjab employees reject CM Mann's 3 per cent DA hike, announce protests
Nearly 4 lakh employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners will begin a month-long agitation starting November 13 over the dearness allowance increase.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced an additional 3 per cent dearness allowance (DA) for 8 lakh government employees and pensioners on Wednesday, calling it a Diwali gift. According to The Indian Express, the hike will be credited with November salaries and brings the total DA to 53 per cent.
The announcement has been rejected by nearly 4 lakh employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners. The Joint Coordination Committee of Employee and Pensioner Unions, led by Sukhchain Khera and Gurnam Singh Virk, announced a month-long agitation starting November 13 with a sit-in at Sangrur.
The unions' protest schedule includes demonstrations outside the residences of all 91 AAP MLAs from December 1 to 5, followed by the immersion of effigy ashes in Budha Nullah on December 6. On December 13, they plan to form a human chain from Shambhu to Amritsar.
The unions are demanding the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), release of outstanding DA arrears, payment of Sixth and Seventh Pay Commission dues, and restoration of old pay scales. Khera alleged that only 7 per cent DA was pending when the Congress lost the election.
The state's outstanding DA and dearness relief (DR) arrears for the period from January 1, 2021, to September 30, 2026, have reached Rs 22,818 crore. The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently issued a contempt notice to the chief secretary regarding the non-payment of arrears, seeking a response by November 17.