To lodge their strong protest against the Punjab Government’s decision to implement the recommendations of the sixth Pay Commission report, thousands of State Government employees, associated with over 100 organisations across the State, on Thursday gathered at the Chief Minister’s home city to make themselves heard.
The employees and pensioners from across the State participated in the protest, held under the banner of Punjab, UT Mulazam and Pensioners Sanjha Front. The government employees associated with Punjab and UT employees and pensioners’ front, ministerial services association, vocational teachers’ union, employees of PSPCL, medical practitioners, and more than 100 other groups participated.
Later, when the protesting employees made an attempt to march towards the residence of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, the Punjab Police stopped them.
In all, there are around 5.40 lakh government employees and pensioners in Punjab. The protests erupted after the Punjab Government announced to implement the pay commissions recommendations beginning July 1.
The agitating employees claimed that they were being provided “minimal increment” in salaries with the Pay Commission’s recommendations. Besides, they alleged that the State Government has been issuing fake assurances of regularisation of jobs to contractual employees while their services have not been regularised.
At the same time, they also alleged that several issues — including providing DA arrears, regularisation of services of employees, teachers and filling vacant posts in government offices — were pending for long.
In addition, the employees also demand that the old pension scheme should be re-implemented while the probation period that continues for three years on a stretch should be reduced to two years.
The employees, who are against the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, are objecting to the formula used in calculation of an increase in pay and decrease in allowances.
The State Government had decided to implement a majority of the recommendations of the Commission with effect from January 1, 2016, a move that — the government claimed — will benefit over five lakhs serving and retired employees.
The Government maintained that the implementation would entail 2.59 times increase in salaries and pensions over the previous Pay Commission recommendations, with an annual increment rate of three per cent.
However, the employees have been demanding that the pay should be hiked by a multiple of 3.74, besides reviving the old pension scheme, regularisation of contractual employees and reduction in probation period for new employees.
Notably, the Chief Minister had on Tuesday appealed to the agitating State Government employees to call off their strike to prevent any further inconvenience to the general public, while assuring them of all efforts to resolve their grievances in consultation with the departments concerned.