Overview
- A three‑member Cabinet sub‑committee recommended on Friday that dearness allowance for about 85,000 employees recruited after July 17, 2020 be raised from 42% to 60%, and the proposal has been sent to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for final approval.
- The proposal applies only to staff placed on central pay matrices after the 2020 recruitment change and does not cover the roughly 3.15 lakh pre‑2020 employees and several lakh pensioners pressing for an unpaid 18% DA and arrears.
- Employee unions have refused to resume talks until disciplinary notices from the August 27 strike are withdrawn and have scheduled further actions including mass casual leave and rallies if the notices are not withdrawn.
- Punjab has appealed a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that directed it to clear about Rs 14,191 crore in DA arrears within 15 days, and ministers say a full 60% DA across the board would add roughly Rs 6,500 crore a year to a wage bill that already consumes about 51% of the state’s revenue.
- The decision could split the workforce by pay group, shape union tactics ahead of planned September and October protests, and key next steps to watch are the chief minister’s decision, the unions’ response, and the Supreme Court outcome on the arrears order.