Work across several Punjab government departments was disrupted and outpatient services at public hospitals were hit on Thursday as more than three lakh employees joined a statewide strike over pending dearness allowance and a raft of other demands. The agitation also drew the participation of over 3.5 lakh pensioners, according to employees’ organisations. More than 150 associations under the banner of the Punjab Sanjha Mulazam Manch joined the “maha hartal”, making it one of the largest coordinated employee protests faced by the Bhagwant Mann government.
Government offices across the state either remained largely deserted or recorded thin attendance, with employees taking mass casual leave. Demonstrations were held at district headquarters and several other locations, where protesters raised slogans against the state government.
A scheduled meeting between Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and representatives of the employees’ organisations in Jalandhar was called off after the chief minister said discussions could take place only after the strike was withdrawn. The unions rejected the condition and insisted that talks should be held without any preconditions.
Healthcare services were among the most visibly affected. Employees’ organisations said OPD services at several government hospitals were suspended, although emergency and essential medical services continued.
At Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar, doctors staged a demonstration and OPD services were suspended while emergency services remained operational. The Punjab Civil Medical Services Association also supported the agitation in Hoshiarpur, where doctors boycotted OPD services at the civil hospital and community health centres.
Elective surgeries were postponed, while emergency surgeries, maternity and childcare services, treatment of admitted patients, medico-legal examinations and postmortem-related work continued, PCMSA representatives said.
The state government's Aam Aadmi Clinics in Ferozepur also remained closed.
The strike affected the education sector as well. Government schools in Hoshiarpur district remained closed as teachers and clerical employees joined the mass casual leave. Government College, Hoshiarpur, witnessed thin student attendance as most regular teaching and clerical employees stayed away, though ad hoc employees remained on duty.
Employees from the offices of deputy commissioners, SDMs and tehsils as well as the education, irrigation, public works, agriculture, horticulture, excise, treasury, water supply and sanitation and other departments participated in the agitation. Protests were also reported from Ludhiana, Phagwara and Jalandhar.
State-owned bus services, however, continued to operate.
Mann said government employees were an important part of the administration but maintained that negotiations could not proceed while the strike continued.
“Employees are an important part of our family and we are ready to listen to every legitimate concern they have. But dialogue and strike cannot proceed together,” the chief minister said in a post on X.
He said the government remained committed to addressing legitimate grievances but would hold discussions only after employees returned to work.
Mann also claimed Punjab government employees were among the highest-paid government staff in the country, arguing that the state paid significantly higher salaries than those offered by the Centre for comparable positions.
The confrontation intensified later in the day as the state government began preparing possible action against employees who remained absent.
The personnel department directed administrative secretaries and heads of departments to compile lists of employees who stayed away from duty and submit them to the Department of General Administration by the end of the working day for further action under applicable service rules.
The communication said complaints had been received from members of the public about inconvenience caused by officials remaining absent from government offices.
Punjab Sanjha Mulazam Manch leader Sukhchain Singh Khaira said employees were not intimidated by the possibility of disciplinary action. He announced that protesters would burn effigies of the chief minister on Friday and Saturday.
Representatives of the participating employees’ organisations are scheduled to meet in Ludhiana on Sunday to decide their next course of action.
At the centre of the dispute is the employees’ demand for the release of 18 per cent pending dearness allowance and arrears. They have also sought implementation of the Old Pension Scheme and regularisation of contractual employees.
Other demands include minimum wages for workers such as mid-day meal, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, restoration of the Assured Career Progression scheme and extension of Punjab pay scales to employees recruited after July 17, 2020.
The unions have accused the state government of failing to fulfil repeated assurances on their demands and alleged that pending DA instalments and arrears have not been released despite directions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.