Patiala: A large number of Punjab govt employees and pensioners protested on Saturday by blocking the Chandigarh-Bathinda National Highway for over an hour to press their demands for pension, dearness allowance (DA) and pay revision.Protesters, representing more than 200 unions under the Punjab Employees and Pensioners Joint Front, demanded pending DA and dearness relief arrears, implementation of the Old Pension Scheme and pending pay commission revisions.After gathering near the CM’s residence, the protesters camped at the Patiala-Sangrur bypass flyover.Union representatives said more than three lakh employees would go on statewide mass casual leave on Oct 21 and 22 if their demands were not addressed through formal negotiations.The protest came amid judicial scrutiny of Punjab govt. On Aug 3, the Punjab and Haryana high court directed govt to clear pending DA instalments within two weeks and restrained it from spending on publicity campaigns until the backlog was cleared.Punjab govt approached the Supreme Court, arguing that paying the amount within a fortnight was “constitutionally impossible”. The high court subsequently issued a criminal contempt notice to the Punjab chief secretary over defective submissions regarding the appeal’s status.Joint Front functionary Sukhchain Singh Khaira accused govt of prioritising advertising and legal delays over the dues of eight lakh serving and retired personnel.He said the state cabinet recently notified an 8% increase in DA, raising it to 50% from Oct 1. However, the front called it a “token gesture” and rejected govt’s proposal to clear the arrears over five years.The front claimed that CM Bhagwant Mann personally assured union leaders that a follow-up settlement meeting would be held in the first week of October, but govt reneged on the meeting. On Saturday, union representatives claimed they rejected the proposal of meeting with the chief secretary and demanded a meeting with the CM.Pensioners also criticised the delay in implementing OPS. Although govt issued a preliminary notification in Nov 2022, standard operating procedures have not been notified, and employees appointed after 2004 remain under the National Pension System, they said.Other demands include restoring the Assured Career Progression scheme, withdrawing the Rs 200 monthly development tax, raising the gratuity ceiling from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, revising pensions using a 2.59 multiplication factor, rolling back the July 2020 order prescribing central pay scales for new recruits, regularising contractual workers, and increasing medical allowance.District administration officials received the unions’ memorandum in the evening. However, the Joint Front representatives said the planned mass leave would proceed unless a formal agreement was reached.
