‘No work, no pay’: Punjab toughens stand as employees extend pen-down strike
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In an order to all administrative secretaries, Chief Secretary KAP Sinha directed that employees abstaining from duty be treated under the “no work, no pay” principle and that salaries be deducted for the period of absence, according to a government source.
Government offices across the state wore a deserted look as ministerial staff observed the pen-down strike, with work severely affected at the Civil and Mini Secretariats in Chandigarh and district-level administrative complexes. Essential services such as buses, schools and healthcare institutions continued to function.
What employees want: The key demands include payment of pending DA dues and the withdrawal of show-cause notices and disciplinary action initiated against employees who participated in the August 27 agitation.
Punjab Sanjha Mulazam Manch convener Sukhchain Singh Khaira said the strike had been extended till Friday, September 11. “The government will not be able to silence us. We will continue to protest till the time we are given our DA dues,” he said.
Unions have also opposed the government’s decision to treat mass casual leave taken during the earlier agitation as unauthorised absence, making withdrawal of the notices a precondition for meaningful talks.
The standoff: The fresh confrontation follows the August 27 statewide strike, in which unions claimed participation of more than three lakh employees. A meeting between Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and employee representatives could not take place that day after the government insisted the strike be called off first.
The government says the DA arrears issue is before the Supreme Court and has cited financial constraints while opposing immediate payment. The state has challenged a Punjab and Haryana High Court order directing it to clear around Rs 14,191 crore in pending DA and dearness relief arrears to employees and pensioners within 15 days.
The government’s September 4 decision to raise DA from 42 to 60 per cent for around 85,000 employees recruited after July 17, 2020 does not cover those recruited earlier, who continue to demand clearance of pending DA instalments.
Industry Minister Aman Arora had termed the proposed agitation “illegal”, but employees went ahead anyway. Union leaders in Hoshiarpur threatened to begin “gheraoing” ministers from September 12, while in Ferozepur employees protested at the District Administrative Complex, with the union alleging the old pension scheme promised in the AAP manifesto had not been fully implemented.
The strike also inconvenienced the public, with people who had travelled from distant villages to government offices forced to return without their work being completed.
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