Punjab Employee Protest Risk Rises as DA Arrears Deadline Looms

The Punjab government on May 30 announced it will consider payment of pending DA and dearness relief (DR) dues for state government employees and pensioners for the period between July 1, 2021 and March 31, 2024. A sub-committee will discuss payment of arrears based on revised salary and pension benefits for the period between January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2021, PTI reported.

The Punjab Cabinet has granted ex-post facto approval for the reconstitution of a Cabinet sub-committee comprising Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Cabinet Ministers Aman Arora and Baljit Kaur to examine issues related to pending arrears of revised pay, pensions, leave encashment and dearness allowance.

On the same day, the government approved the process to dismantle a decades-old contractual employment system and regularisation framework for over 65,000 workers across 51 government departments. “A total of 65,048 outsourced workers across 51 departments fall within the ambit of this reform and more than 26,000 workers will be among the first beneficiaries,” Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stated. He added that workers performing duties involving risks to life and health will receive faster consideration under the policy.

The July 17 rally in Mohali will test whether the state government moves on the demands before the protest date.