Chandigarh: The Punjab government has called a meeting with representatives of government employees’ unions on August 27 to discuss the long-pending issue of Dearness Allowance (DA) arrears and other demands. The meeting, to be chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, will be held at Punjab Bhawan, Sector 3, Chandigarh.
The government has said that each employees’ organisation can nominate a maximum of 10 representatives for the meeting.
The decision came after hundreds of government employees gathered in Chandigarh on Friday to protest over the pending DA arrears. Employees had taken mass leave from their offices and planned to march towards the Punjab Assembly during the ongoing Monsoon Session.
However, Chandigarh Police stopped the protesters near Sector 39 by erecting barricades. When demonstrators attempted to move forward, a scuffle broke out with the police, who later used water cannons to disperse the crowd. Despite the action, the protesters remained firm on their demand to march towards the Assembly.
The protest led to traffic congestion in several parts of Chandigarh, while work in many Punjab government offices was also affected. Teachers’ organisations had also declared a holiday for students to enable members to participate in the protest.
The August 27 meeting is being seen as crucial, with expectations that the government and employees’ unions will discuss the release of pending DA arrears and other long-standing demands.
The dispute stems from January 2023, when the Punjab government withheld DA and Dearness Relief (DR) revisions in line with its policy, leaving an 18 per cent DA increase pending.
Government employees and pensioners later approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking payment of the arrears. On April 8, a single-judge bench directed the government to release the pending DA and DR. The state challenged the order before a division bench, but the appeal was dismissed, with the court directing the government to clear all pending DA and DR instalments within 15 days.
The Punjab government has since approached the Supreme Court, while employees have continued their agitation demanding immediate implementation of the High Court’s order.
