Punjab to raise Dearness Allowance to 60% for 85,000 government employees

The Punjab government will raise the dearness allowance of around 85,000 government employees recruited after July 17, 2020 by 18 percentage points to 60 per cent, Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said on Friday.

He said the recommendation was made by a Cabinet sub-committee set up to examine employees' issues, and would now be sent to the chief minister.

The decision is significant because employees recruited after July 17, 2020 have been drawing pay equivalent to Central pay scales with 42 per cent dearness allowance, which is lower than the pay structure for those recruited before July 2020 under the Punjab Pay Commission.

Arora, speaking to mediapersons in Chandigarh, said the state had two pay scales, leading to confusion and conflicting interests.

Arora said the two systems were the Punjab basic pay scales and the scales equivalent to the Central basic pay scales under the 7th Central Pay Commission.

"Punjab basic pay scales, which traditionally are higher, range from 30 to 70 per cent more than the Central basic pay. And when DA is added to it, which is currently 42 per cent, the salary increases much above the Central pay scales," he said.

"When we calculate and compare, even with 60 per cent DA added to Central basic pay, the Punjab pay scales and take-home salaries are higher," he said.

Arora said the previous Congress government had decided to recruit employees on Central pay scales after July 17, 2020. He said 85,000 employees had been recruited in the last six years.

He added that the Bhagwant Mann government would give them a "Janmashtami gift" by raising their DA from 42 per cent to 60 per cent, as decided by the three-member Cabinet sub-committee.

He, however, said the hike would not benefit employees recruited before July 2020. "From day one, the Bhagwant Mann government has been talking about the welfare of every section. We cannot imagine good governance without our employees," he said.

The announcement comes amid protests by more than three lakh government employees, who went on a statewide strike on August 27 and demanded that the government accept various demands, including the release of their pending 18 per cent DA.

They have also threatened to go on mass casual leave on September 8 if the government does not withdraw a recent notice on disciplinary action against those who remained on "unauthorised absence" on August 27.

The employees have given the state government time till September 7 to withdraw the notice issued to the protesting staff.

On Thursday, the Punjab government appealed to employee unions to engage with it through dialogue rather than confrontation, and said employees were the backbone of good governance.