Punjab government employees have decided to intensify their protests over the next two months, with the joint coordination committee (JCC) of employees and pensioners giving a call to gherao residences of seven ministers on September 11 and 12. This will be followed by a statewide maha rally on October 10 at Sangrur, which is chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s home turf.
“The government is employing delaying tactics in implementing the Punjab and Haryana HC order (on pending DA payment). They want to use funds to roll out freebies but not give employees their due,” alleged Sukhchain Singh Khehra, convenor of Sanjha Mulazam Manch, an umbrella organisation of government employee unions.
The JCC has called for a two-day mass leave on October 21 and 22, which will see work in all government departments across Punjab coming to a standstill. A similar mass leave for a day in August had a paralysing impact on government services.
With around 750,000 employees and pensioners involved, the confrontation has the potential to influence nearly 3.8 million voters with families taken into account. For a party preparing to defend its 2022 mandate, when it cornered 92 of 117 seats in the assembly, this is more than a human resource problem. Government employees are a relatively organised and politically influential voting bloc, with the ability to carry grievances into their families and communities. ET takes a look at the reasons and impact of employee grievances.
Reasons for protests
The issue at the heart of the confrontation is a July 17, 2020 notification of the previous Congress government that introduced two salary structures – one for Punjab government employees recruited before the notification date and another for those recruited after. “Our demand is to not create a divide between employees and have a uniform salary structure for all,” Khehra said.Employees are demanding the release of an 18% pending DA component. The Centre pays 60% DA. “DA is linked to Consumer Price Index and is given to save employees from the impact of inflation. We have received only 42% DA. Our demand is to release 18% DA,” Khehra said. Punjab and Haryana HC has given orders in favour of employees. However, the state government has decided to challenge the decisions in Supreme Court. The OPS is another politically sensitive issue. While AAP government had notified restoration of the scheme on November 18, 2022, its implementation remains a point of contention.
ET’s questionnaire sent to AAP remained unanswered till press time on Sunday.
Why AAP should be worried
In the run-up to the 2022 assembly election, AAP positioned itself as an alternative to the Congress-Akali political order and promised responsive, people-centric governance.
Four years later, the employee agitation risks turning that narrative against AAP. Vikramdev Singh, state president of Democratic Teachers Front, told ET the frustration was not merely over pending financial demands but the lack of direct engagement with CM. “Everyone had pinned their hopes on AAP because it was supposed to be a party with a difference. But today, CM is not meeting us. If the government does not listen to its own employees, who are we supposed to approach?” he said.
The optics are particularly damaging for the party. Unlike a loosely organised protest group, government employees have institutional networks extending across virtually every district. The immediate challenge for the AAP, therefore, is not simply to settle a pay dispute. It is to prevent a politically influential constituency that once saw the party as an agent of change, from becoming a campaign against it.
