Approximately three lakh government employees will be on collective casual leave on Wednesday and Thursday to protest their demands. This two-day agitation is expected to affect the functioning of government offices across the state.
The strike may also impact the operations of the Punjab Civil Secretariat located in Chandigarh. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the bus services of Punjab Roadways and PRTC will be affected.
Employee organizations have been active for several months in protest against the government's failure to take expected action on their pending demands. In this form of protest, the employees have decided to demonstrate by taking collective casual leave for two days.
Sahil Sharma, General Secretary of the Joint Action Committee of the Civil Secretariat, told 'Aaj Tak' that approximately three lakh employees will be on collective casual leave on October 21 and 22. He confirmed that this agitation has been pre-announced. The employees will remain away from work for both days to protest against the government and raise their demands.
According to Sharma, the employees have been negotiating with the government regarding their demands for a long time, but they have not received any satisfactory resolution yet. The clear view of the employees is that their agitation will continue until concrete decisions are made on their demands.
The main demands of the employees include the pending payment of Dearness Allowance (DA), restoration of the old pension scheme, and regularization of temporary employees. Additionally, they are seeking a resolution to salary-related issues during the probation period.
Sahil Sharma stated that the employees want the Punjab government to pay the pending Dearness Allowance as per the High Court's order. According to him, the employees should receive 18 percent DA, whereas after the recent meeting with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, it was reported that only 8 percent DA would be given, which the employees consider insufficient compared to their demands.
As part of the agitation, employees will hold a sit-in at the Punjab Civil Secretariat building in Chandigarh on Wednesday, where they will reiterate their demands and appeal to the government for a swift resolution. Due to the collective leave, the pace of work in various government departments may slow down, causing difficulties for common citizens in completing their official work.
In addition to government offices, the state's public transport services are also likely to be affected by this agitation. As a result of the employee protest, thousands of buses operated by Punjab Roadways and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) may face disruption.
Contract drivers, conductors, and mechanics working in the buses are demanding regularization. The strike by these employees could affect the availability of buses on major routes of the state, causing inconvenience to daily commuters, salaried individuals, and other passengers.