Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is likely to meet representatives of government employees’ unions on Friday amid ongoing protests over pending Dearness Allowance (DA) payments and the demand for restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Sukhchain Singh Khaira, coordinator of the Joint Action Committee of employees, confirmed that a meeting with Chief Minister Mann has been scheduled and the meeting comes at a time when employee organisations have been pressing the Punjab government to address their pending demands. The employees’ unions had earlier planned to hold a press conference on Thursday over recent statements made by members of the Cabinet sub-committee dealing with their demands and the proposed meeting with the Chief Minister is now expected to provide an opportunity for the employee representatives to put their concerns directly before the government.
The issue has remained contentious since August 27, when more than 3 lakh Punjab government employees went on strike, affecting government operations across the state, and a meeting between CM Mann and a delegation of employees had also been scheduled on the same day.
Before that meeting, Mann had posted on X that government employees were an important part of the government’s “family” and that the government was ready to listen to their legitimate concerns, however, he had also said that dialogue and strikes could not continue together. Mann had stated that the government was committed to resolving the employees’ issues but dialogue would take place only after the strike was called off, meanwhile, the employees’ demand for pending DA instalments is also linked to an ongoing legal matter before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
On Thursday, the High Court directed the Punjab government to actively pursue its challenge before the Supreme Court against the High Court’s earlier directions concerning payment of pending DA and Dearness Relief (DR) instalments.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor clarified that the state has the right to challenge the High Court’s order before the Supreme Court, however, the Bench said the government cannot leave its Special Leave Petition (SLP) pending without actively pursuing it. The court was hearing applications concerning alleged non-compliance with its August 3 judgment and that judgment had directed the Punjab government and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to release pending DA and DR instalments at the rates applicable under the Central Government pattern.
During Thursday’s hearing, the state’s counsel told the court that the government was in the process of removing defects in its challenge before the Supreme Court.
The counsel also referred to the 90-day limitation period available for filing an appeal.
The High Court said it was not questioning the state’s right to approach the Supreme Court. Instead, it asked the government to actively pursue the legal remedy it had already chosen and the Bench directed the state to get its appeal heard by next week or mention before the Supreme Court that the matter had already been filed and was awaiting listing. The court also questioned why the state had not yet got its appeal heard despite being informed earlier that the matter was lying in defects and the Bench adjourned the matter for a week and said it would consider the arguments and objections from both sides if the state did not pursue its remedy before the Supreme Court.
The DA and DR dispute originates from an earlier judgment passed on April 8.
The court had directed the Punjab government to release DA for its employees and DR for pensioners at the same rates being paid to members of the All India Services serving in Punjab, following the Central Government pattern. The court had initially fixed June 30 as the deadline for compliance and directed the Chief Secretary to submit an affidavit regarding implementation and Punjab and PSPCL later challenged the directions and on August 3, the Division Bench dismissed those appeals and upheld the directions issued by the Single Judge.
Since the original deadline had already passed while the appeals were pending, the Division Bench modified the implementation timeline.
The August 3 order directed Punjab and PSPCL to release the pending DA and DR instalments within a fortnight.
The present proceedings concern alleged non-compliance with those directions, while the state’s challenge remains pending before the Supreme Court and the High Court has now given the Punjab government a week to pursue its Supreme Court remedy.
Against this backdrop, Friday’s proposed meeting between CM Bhagwant Mann and employee representatives assumes significance for the ongoing dispute over DA payments and the employees’ demand for restoration of the Old Pension Scheme.
