Teachers join statewide Punjab employees’ strike

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Employees demand restoration of old pension scheme, Punjab pay scales and regularisation of contractual workers

Patiala, August 27

The government employees across Punjab are observing a statewide strike in their respective departments, with a large protest being held outside the District Education Officer (DEO) office in Patiala, where teachers also participated in the demonstration.

Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) leader Bikram Singh said the issue was not limited to Dearness Allowance (DA), which had only become an immediate concern. He said employees had several pending demands, including restoration of the old pension scheme, implementation of Punjab pay scales and regularisation of contractual employees, computer teachers and other workers who had been serving for years.

Singh alleged that the government had failed to resolve employees’ issues over the past four-and-a-half years. He further claimed that employees faced barricading, water cannons, lathi charges, police cases and arrests whenever they staged protests, particularly during demonstrations in Sangrur.

He said protests were being held at several locations across Patiala district, including Patiala, Samana, Patran and Rajpura. Employees from different departments were also protesting at government offices, including the electricity board and Secretariat.

According to Singh, lakhs of employees and pensioners, including regular and contractual workers, honorarium-based workers, ASHA workers and mid-day meal workers, were participating in the statewide strike.

He said employee unions had appealed to the public to support the strike. Keeping in view the upcoming Rakhi festival, employees had decided not to block roads or create traffic jams. Instead, protests were being held outside government offices, schools and other institutions that had shut.

Singh claimed this was the first time since 1977-78 that government schools across Punjab had been closed as part of such a statewide strike. He also said a significant number of women employees were participating.

He urged the government to address the pending demands, warning that continued neglect could lead to stronger protests. Employee unions claimed that more than three lakh employees and over four lakh pensioners were participating in the statewide strike.