Punjab Government Employees Begin Strike Over Long-Standing Demands

Work within various government offices across Punjab experienced significant disruptions on Tuesday as staff participated in a statewide pen-down strike, alongside observing mass casual leave. The protests primarily involved ministerial staff who are demanding the release of pending Dearness Allowance (DA), the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), and the retraction of a government letter deemed to classify their previous mass leave as "unauthorised".

Although public transportation and educational institutions remained operational, government employees took a stand by refusing to perform their duties. Members of the Punjab Sanjha Mulazam Manch, the organisation leading the protests, gathered at various government offices, including the Civil Secretariat and district offices, and symbolically shut down their computers in protest.

The protests were particularly notable in the administration's headquarters at Chandigarh and Mohali, where employees assembled in considerable numbers, displaying signs and chanting slogans against the government. This marks the second major protest by government employees in a little over a fortnight aimed at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) administration.

These actions unfolded despite warnings from Cabinet Minister Aman Arora, who referred to the proposed strike as "illegal" and cautioned against actions that may inconvenience the public. As tensions escalated, union leaders were summoned for discussions with K K Yadav, the Principal Secretary for General Administration. Following their meeting, union representatives stated that while they were asked to consider ending the protest, there was no agreement to retract the letter outlining the previous mass leave as unlawful.

The protesting employees continue to demand the immediate withdrawal of the contentious letter, in addition to the transfer of their union leader, Sushil Kumar Fauji, from the secretariat to an office in Mohali. The group also called for no disciplinary actions against employees who participated in the August 27 mass casual leave.

Additionally, some employees organised a one-day hunger strike in support of Mohanjit Singh, who had reportedly faced police mistreatment following his protest against the government's policies during a recent public engagement by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Sangrur. Following the recent strike actions, further negotiations between the government and union representatives are anticipated in the coming days.