Punjab government employees will now get 50% Dearness Allowance (DA), up from the existing 42%, after the state government reached an agreement with employee unions on Friday and the decision was taken after a meeting between Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Joint Coordination Committee, which represents employee unions, so the announcement also brings an end to the employees' agitation that had continued for nearly three weeks.
The government has agreed to an 8% increase in DA, but it will be released in two installments of 4% each.
Existing DA: 42%
New DA: 50%
Total increase: 8%
First 4%: To be paid with the September salary
Second 4%: To be paid with the October salary
Beneficiaries: Punjab government employees and pensioners
The DA is linked to an employee's basic pay, not their total salary and this means the actual increase in rupee terms will vary from employee to employee depending on their basic pay, for example, if an employee's basic pay is ₹30,000, a 4% DA increase amounts to ₹1,200 per month, so once the full 8% increase is implemented, the additional DA would amount to ₹2,400 per month on a ₹30,000 basic pay.
The same percentage-based increase will apply to pensioners, with the exact amount depending on their pension/basic pension.
According to the announcement, the 8% DA will be released in two installments: the first 4% will be paid with the September salary and the remaining 4% with the October salary and this means employees will not receive the entire 8% increase as a single monthly addition immediately.
Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said the decision will put a financial burden of approximately ₹250 crore on the Punjab government.
Employees had been demanding a higher DA and had been protesting against the government's handling of their pending demands and the government has now agreed to increase DA from 42% to 50%, although employee leaders had reportedly demanded 60% DA.
The agreement also covers pensioners, meaning the impact of the decision extends beyond serving government employees.
The DA issue has been settled for now, but several other employee demands remain pending, so during Friday's meeting, employee representatives raised issues including:
Full salary and allowances during the three-year probation period
Issues concerning employees receiving honorariums
Implementation of the Old Pension Scheme notification issued in 2022
Withdrawal of the ₹200 income tax being levied by the Punjab government
Induction of computer teachers into the department
The government has assured employee leaders that these issues will be discussed separately. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is expected to hold another meeting with employees in the coming weeks to discuss their remaining demands.
The agreement on DA has ended the current agitation following Friday's meeting.
The employees had been on a confrontation course with the government for nearly three weeks and their agitation had included mass leave and plans for further protests, including demonstrations targeting ministers and MLAs.
The Joint Coordination Committee had also announced a series of upcoming programmes, including a Vidhan Sabha-style event on September 30, a rally in Sangrur on October 10 and another strike on October 21–22, so with Friday's agreement, the DA-related demand has now been addressed, while the remaining demands are set to be taken up in subsequent talks.