Punjab government employees have withdrawn their ongoing pen-down strike after the state government assured them that its August 27 letter declaring their earlier mass casual protest leave as “unauthorised” would be withdrawn.
The decision was taken after an hour-long meeting between Chief Secretary KAP Sinha and employee representatives, including Sahil Sharma and Alka Chopra, at the Chief Secretary’s office on Wednesday morning.
According to employee leaders, the Chief Secretary assured them that no coercive action would be taken against employees who had participated in the earlier protest and the meeting was described as “fruitful”.
Following the meeting, employee union leaders announced that the pen-down strike was being rolled back, however, they made it clear that their original demands regarding service conditions and pay have not been resolved.
Sukhchain Khera, convener of the Sanjha Mullazam Manch, said the agreement was limited to the withdrawal of letters seeking action against employees who had participated in the protest, and this also includes the “no work, no pay” action proposed by the government.
Khera said no discussion had taken place on the employees’ main demands, including an increase in Dearness Allowance (DA), restoration of the Old Pension Scheme and other demands related to service and pay structures, he added that the employees’ protest on these demands, scheduled for September 12 and 13, would continue as planned.
Wednesday was the second day of the pen-down strike by Punjab government employees and the protest had been launched over the government’s August 27 order, under which the mass casual leave taken by employees during their earlier protest was declared unauthorised.
The issue escalated on Tuesday when employee representatives held talks with Principal Secretary, General Administration, K K Yadav, however, the meeting did not lead to an agreement.
The employees had initially announced a one-day strike for Tuesday and after the talks remained inconclusive, they extended the protest till Friday.
The employees had demanded that further talks with the government should take place only after the August 27 order declaring their protest leave unauthorised was withdrawn and thety had also raised objections to show-cause notices being issued to employees.
After the employees extended their protest on Tuesday evening, the state government initiated action under the “no work, no pay” policy.
The subsequent meeting with the Chief Secretary led to an assurance against coercive action and the decision to withdraw the ongoing pen-down strike, however, the broader demands of the employees remain pending.
Their unions have said the planned September 12-13 protest over DA, the Old Pension Scheme and other service and pay-related issues will continue.