Punjab Employees’ Strike on August 27: Government Services Likely to Be Hit
Chandigarh: Government services across Punjab are expected to be affected on August 27 as employees and pensioners, responding to a call by the Sanjha Mulazim Manch, prepare to observe a statewide strike through mass casual leave.
The employees are seeking the release of pending dearness allowance (DA) instalments along with arrears and have also raised demands related to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and regularisation of contractual workers.
Government Offices Likely to See Disruption
Employees from several major government departments are expected to participate in the mass casual leave. These include staff working in Deputy Commissioner offices, tehsil and SDM offices, Sewa Kendras, water and sanitation departments, irrigation, Municipal Corporations, PSPCL, Punjab Pollution Control Board, PUNBUS and Punjab Roadways, among others.
The participation is likely to affect routine work in government offices on Thursday.
Employees have also appealed to the public to avoid visiting government offices on August 27, saying that regular work may not be carried out due to the strike.
SIR Duties Also to Be Affected
As part of the protest, employees have decided not to perform SIR-related duties. The move is being described by the employee organisations as part of their expression of dissatisfaction over the delay in addressing their demands.
Amit Arora, Additional General Secretary of the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union Punjab, said the protest was not aimed at causing inconvenience to the general public.
“This is not to harass the public as we are not going to interfere anywhere except for the government departments.”
Arora said a meeting with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was also scheduled and indicated that the unions could review their course of action depending on the outcome.
Schools, Colleges and Hospital OPDs May Also Be Affected
The strike is expected to cast an impact on government offices, revenue establishments, government schools and colleges, and hospital outpatient departments (OPDs), depending on employee participation.
However, markets, private establishments, factories and private institutions are expected to function normally, as the strike call is focused on government employees and departments.
Key Demands of Employees
The employee organisations have highlighted three major demands:
Release of pending DA instalments along with arrears
Implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS)
Regularisation of contractual employees
The proposed mass casual leave is expected to affect government functioning across the state for the day, while further developments may depend on the outcome of discussions between employee representatives and the state government.
