The Punjab Government has announced a Rs 250-crore bonanza for its four lakh employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners by agreeing to release two dearness allowance (DA) instalments totalling 8 per cent.
The decision has ended the month-long agitation by employees, with the DA rising from 42 per cent to 50 per cent.
The sources said Mann first told the union leaders that he would “not allow governance to suffer or the public to be inconvenienced because of employee strikes”.
After all, employees are part of the government and only together can we take Punjab forward,” he said.
However, amid the mass casual leave observed by 4 lakh employees on August 27, Mann cancelled the meeting after union leaders reached Jalandhar for the talks.
The Punjab Government has announced a Rs 250-crore bonanza for its four lakh employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners by agreeing to release two dearness allowance (DA) instalments totalling 8 per cent.
The decision has ended the month-long agitation by employees, with the DA rising from 42 per cent to 50 per cent.
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The enhanced DA would be paid in September salary payable in October, said Punjab minister and Aam Aadmi Party’s state president Aman Arora after a 90-minute-long meeting between employee union leaders and a government delegation led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
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No decision was taken on the payment of pending DA arrears, while other demands would be discussed at the next meeting with the CM, scheduled within a fortnight, said sources.
“Employee unions have decided to postpone their agitations planned for the weekend. A meeting of all unions will be held on September 27 to discuss the future course of action,” Gurnam Singh Virk, president of the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union, told The Tribune.
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Twelve leaders of various unions, all members of the Joint Action Committee of Unions, including Virk, Sukhchain Khera, Satish Rana and Sahil Sharma, met the Chief Minister. They presented a shawl to Mann and urged the government to “consider their demands sympathetically”.
The sources said Mann first told the union leaders that he would “not allow governance to suffer or the public to be inconvenienced because of employee strikes”.
The CM is learnt to have initially offered to hike the DA by 6 per cent as a “goodwill gesture”. “We pointed out that DA instalments must be released as per the prescribed pattern and sought the release of two pending 4 per cent instalments for 2023. The CM agreed and said he was willing to consider our demands in subsequent meetings after these were examined by higher officials,” said Khera and Sharma.
Arora, who played a crucial role in brokering the truce by engaging with union leaders since Wednesday, said the move was a “goodwill gesture until the court delivered its final verdict in the matter”. “Both sides have agreed to resolve all issues amicably. After all, employees are part of the government and only together can we take Punjab forward,” he said.
Arora was flanked by Cabinet Minister Dr Baljit Kaur and leaders of various employee unions when he announced the end of the standoff. He offered sweets to Virk, Khera and Rana, who too reciprocated the gesture.
Thanking Arora, Virk and Rana said, “The CM has assured us of taking up on priority our other demands, including restoration of the old pension scheme, removal of the separate pay structure for employees recruited after July 17, 2020, and payment of full salary during the probation period.”
Employees have been protesting for over a month following the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s August 3 order directing the government to clear Rs 14,191 crore DA dues within 15 days.
After employees staged their first protest on August 7 and announced a “Maha Hartal” for August 27, the unions were invited for talks with the CM the same day.
However, amid the mass casual leave observed by 4 lakh employees on August 27, Mann cancelled the meeting after union leaders reached Jalandhar for the talks. The standoff escalated as the government declared the mass casual leave unauthorised and directed officers to issue show-cause notices to employees. The government later decided not to go ahead with any punitive action.
