Punjab govt employees strike disrupts services, OPDs hit across state

Government work was disrupted across Punjab on Thursday as more than three lakh employees went on a statewide strike over pending dearness allowance (DA), implementation of the Old Pension Scheme and other demands.

More than 150 employee organisations under the banner of the Punjab Sanjha Mulazam Manch participated in the protest. Around 3.5 lakh pensioners also joined the agitation, according to employee bodies.

Government offices across the state recorded thin attendance, with many employees taking mass casual leave. Protesters also held demonstrations at district headquarters and other locations, raising slogans against the Bhagwant Mann-led government.

Public healthcare services were among the worst affected, with outpatient department (OPD) services suspended at several government hospitals and health centres.

In Hoshiarpur, the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association supported the strike by boycotting OPD services at the Civil Hospital and community health centres. District association president Dr Kultar Singh and general secretary Dr Muneesh Kumar said elective surgeries had also been postponed.

Emergency services, maternity and child care, emergency surgeries, treatment of admitted patients, medico-legal work and postmortems, however, continued, they said.

In Amritsar, doctors at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital staged a demonstration. Protesters said OPD services had been suspended, while emergency services remained operational.

Government 'Aam Aadmi Clinics' in Ferozepur were also shut.

Schools and colleges affected

Government schools in Hoshiarpur district remained closed after teachers and clerical staff observed mass casual leave, according to representatives of employee organisations.

Government College, Hoshiarpur, also reported thin student attendance as regular teaching and clerical staff participated in the protest. Ad hoc employees, however, remained on duty.

Employees from several departments, including the Deputy Commissioner's office, SDM and tehsil offices, education, irrigation, public works, agriculture, horticulture, civil health, industries, water supply and sanitation, excise and treasury departments, participated in the agitation.

Protests were also reported from Ludhiana, Phagwara and Jalandhar. State-owned bus services continued to operate.

Mann says talks only after strike ends

A scheduled meeting between Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and representatives of employee organisations in Jalandhar was cancelled after the government made it clear that talks would take place only if the strike was called off.

The employees rejected the condition and demanded an unconditional meeting.

In a post on X, Mann said the government was prepared to listen to legitimate concerns but maintained that negotiations and a strike could not continue simultaneously.

“Employees are an important part of our family and we are ready to listen to every legitimate concern they have. But dialogue and strike cannot proceed together,” he said.

Mann also claimed that Punjab government employees were the highest-paid among government employees in the country.

Government prepares for action

The state government subsequently began preparing to take action against employees who remained absent from duty.

The personnel department directed administrative secretaries and heads of departments to compile lists of absent employees and submit them to the Department of General Administration for further action under applicable service rules.

The communication said complaints had been received from members of the public about inconvenience caused by government officials remaining absent from their offices.

Employee leader Sukhchain Singh Khaira, however, said workers were not concerned about possible disciplinary action.

He said employee organisations would burn effigies of the chief minister on Friday and Saturday. A meeting of the unions is scheduled in Ludhiana on Sunday to decide the next course of action.

Employees press for DA, pension scheme

The protesting employees are demanding release of pending 18 per cent DA instalments and arrears, implementation of the Old Pension Scheme and regularisation of contractual employees.

They have also demanded implementation of minimum wages for workers, including mid-day meal, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, restoration of the ACP scheme and extension of Punjab pay scales to employees recruited after July 17, 2020.

Employee organisations have alleged that the state government has failed to fulfil repeated assurances on their long-pending demands. They have also claimed that the pending DA instalments and arrears have not been released despite directions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The strike has emerged as a major mobilisation of government employees against the state government, with its continuation likely to put further pressure on the administration to resolve the dispute.