300,000 govt employees in Punjab at odds with AAP; mass leave sparks escalation
Chandigarh, August 29: The conflict between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and approximately 300,000 government employees in Punjab is escalating. The government has compiled a list of approximately 2,500 employees who took mass leave and joined the strike on August 27.
According to government sources, no valid reason has been provided for these employees’ absence. Under service rules, suspension, forced leave, pay cuts, or other departmental action could be taken.
The employees are agitating over eight demands, including pending DA payments, implementation of the old pension scheme, and regularization of contractual employees. Following the August 27th strike, the government scheduled a meeting with employee leaders. The meetings were held first at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh and later at the PAP complex in Jalandhar.
However, about an hour before the meeting, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann clarified that the strike must be ended first, followed by negotiations. Employee leaders arrived at the PAP campus, but the Chief Minister did not attend the meeting. They were asked to release a video declaring the end of the strike, which they refused. The meeting was subsequently cancelled.
The government subsequently asked the secretaries of all departments for a list of employees who were absent from duty without valid reasons during the strike. Action is now being prepared based on this.
Meanwhile, employee organizations have also refused to back down. A meeting of the Joint Front of Government Employees has been called in Ludhiana, where a strategy for further struggle and the next steps against the government’s action may be announced.
Meanwhile, employees have launched an unfollow campaign against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on social media. Employee leaders are appealing to unfollow the Chief Minister on Facebook, Instagram, and Instagram. Employees allege that despite calling them for a meeting, the Chief Minister did not engage with them.
