Punjab DA row: Employees escalate strike over unpaid dues

State government employees across Punjab have launched a state-wide pen-down strike, halting public services and shutting down official computers over long-pending demands. Under the strike call given by the Punjab Sanjha Mulazam Manch, workers are demanding the immediate clearance of an 18% dearness allowance (DA) backlog, assured career progression benefits, and full implementation of the old pension scheme. The strike proceeded despite minister Aman Arora declaring the protest illegal and warning of action. The employees union on the other hand threatened to target ministers directly starting September 12.

Although the administration recently hiked DA from 42% to 60% for roughly 85,000 post-July 2020 recruits, pre-2020 staff remain excluded. Employees insist on full arrear payouts following a Punjab and Haryana High Court directive. The state government has appealed to the Supreme Court, contending that disbursing the required ₹14,191 crore DA arrear burden within two weeks is constitutionally and financially impossible.