Punjab employees reject 3% DA hike, announce month-long agitation from November 13
PTC Web Desk: Punjab government employees and pensioners have turned down the 3 per cent dearness allowance (DA) hike announced by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as a 'Diwali gift'. They have announced a month-long agitation starting November 13. Around four lakh employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners are part of the movement.
The protest will end on December 13 with a proposed human chain stretching from Shambhu to Amritsar.
Also Read | Punjab govt employees get 3% DA hike: Check how much more you will get every month
Protest schedule
November 13 to 19: A pucca dharna at Sangrur. The unions are moving their protest venue here from Chandigarh.
December 1 to 5: Protests outside the homes of all 91 AAP MLAs in their constituencies, along with the burning of effigies of the ruling party.
December 6: Ashes of the effigies to be immersed in the Budha Nullah.
December 13: Human chain from Shambhu to Amritsar to show unity among employees and press their demands.
The schedule was shared by Sukhchain Khera and Gurnam Singh Virk, leaders of the Joint Coordination Committee of Employee and Pensioner Unions.
What the government announced
The unions’ announcement came a day after the Chief Minister declared a 3 per cent DA increase, which takes the total DA to 53 per cent. According to the government, this will cost an additional Rs 90 crore every month. The government had already announced an 8 per cent hike two months ago. Mann said the two instalments together would add Rs 3,988 crore to the state’s yearly expenditure.
The unions said the hike does not address their main demands and that their agitation will continue until all pending issues are settled.
Union demands
Implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS)
Release of the remaining 10 per cent DA
Payment of pending DA arrears
Implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations
Restoration of old pay scales and allowances
Withdrawal of policies that affect employees’ service conditions
Unions dispute government’s claims
At a media briefing, the union leaders tried to counter what they called misleading statements by the government. They played video clips of AAP leaders, some from before the party came to power and others from its time in office, to back each point.
The leaders rejected the claim that Punjab employees receive the highest salaries in the country. They also questioned the government’s repeated argument that it is struggling because of DA instalments left pending by earlier governments.
“Only seven per cent DA was pending when the Congress lost the election. The Akali-BJP government had not left any pending DA,” Khera said.
The leaders also alleged that the government is presenting the payment of Sixth Pay Commission arrears as if it had cleared the DA dues. According to them, 10 per cent DA is still pending and should be released immediately.
The unions further accused the government of backing out of its promise on the Old Pension Scheme. They played clips of Mann announcing OPS implementation in November 2022. They also played earlier statements by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, who had supported the scheme before the party formed the government in Punjab.
The union leaders said employees and pensioners will not accept piecemeal announcements. They added that the agitation will go on until the government keeps its promises and addresses all their demands.
- PTC NEWS
