Punjab govt announces 8 per cent dearness allowance, employees end protest after assurance

PTC News Desk: In a significant breakthrough, Punjab government on Friday announced an eight per cent increase in the dearness allowance for its employees. The decision was taken after a meeting was held between employee leaders and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Chandigarh. 

Following the meeting, employee leaders held a press conference along with Cabinet Minister Aman Arora. Arora said the deadlock between the government and employees had been broken after the meeting with the Chief Minister.

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“Employees are a part of our family,” Arora said, adding that everyone has the right to present their concerns and the government should listen to them.

DA to be released in two installments

Arora said the government has agreed to provide an 8% DA increase in two instalments of 4% each. With this increase, the DA for Punjab government employees will rise to 50%.

The revised DA will be paid along with this month’s salary. The additional 8% DA will put an estimated financial burden of around Rs 248 crore on the state government.

Earlier, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had refused to hold a meeting with employee unions in Jalandhar, saying that the employees should first call off their strike before talks could take place. When the employee leaders did not agree, the Chief Minister left without holding discussions.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, AAP state president and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora, and Cabinet Minister Dr Baljit Kaur were also present at the Chandigarh meeting.

Agreement reached on two key issues 

Arora said the meeting resulted in an agreement on two major points. He said the government had started addressing issues created by previous governments.

The government will also try to resolve disputes between employees and the state that have reached courts through discussions and negotiations, he added.