Punjab Govt warns employees against September 8 Strike, Calls it ‘Illegal’
The Punjab government on Monday, Spetember 7, termed the proposed employees' strike on Tuesday, September 8, “illegal” and warned that action would be taken if the agitation disrupted essential public services or caused inconvenience to people.
The warning from Industry Minister Aman Arora came a day before government employees were scheduled to proceed on mass casual leave in support of their demands.
The Punjab Sanja Mulazam Manch had last month given the state government until September 7 to withdraw a notice issued against protesting employees. The employees had threatened to proceed on mass casual leave on September 8 if the notice was not withdrawn.
The state government had also directed the concerned authorities to issue show-cause notices to employees who remained “unauthorised absent” on August 27.
In his statement on Monday, Arora said the proposed strike was illegal as the issue concerning dearness allowance (DA) was already pending before the Supreme Court.
He said the government had already addressed the DA demand of around 85,000 employees by deciding to increase their DA from 42 per cent to 60 per cent. For other employees, the government had offered salary parity with comparable Central government employees, he said.
Arora appealed to employees not to become “political tools” and maintained that the Bhagwant Mann-led government was committed to resolving genuine concerns through dialogue.
At the same time, he said the government had a responsibility towards the state's nearly three crore residents and could not permit disruption of essential public services.
The minister warned that any inconvenience caused to the public would leave the government with no option but to take action in accordance with the law.
He urged employee organisations to continue discussions with the government and prevent “political interests” from obstructing efforts to find a solution.
DA dispute pending before Supreme Court
Arora reiterated that the government had decided to increase DA from 42 per cent to 60 per cent for around 85,000 employees recruited after July 17, 2020.
The decision applies to employees appointed under the post-2020 system, whose salaries are based on the Central government's 7th Pay Commission structure. However, employees recruited before July 17, 2020, will not be covered by the decision.
The wider dispute over DA and arrears is currently before the Supreme Court, and the state government will comply with the final decision of the apex court, Arora said.
More than three lakh Punjab government employees had participated in a statewide strike on August 27, demanding action on several issues, including the release of their pending 18 per cent DA.
The state government has challenged in the Supreme Court a High Court order directing it to release pending dearness allowance and dearness relief dues to government employees and pensioners within 15 days.
The government has argued that complying with the order within such a short period would be financially and constitutionally difficult, with the outstanding arrears estimated at around Rs 14,191 crore.
Arora said the government wanted to protect employee interests while also maintaining Punjab's financial stability and ensuring uninterrupted delivery of public services.
