Punjab’s government employees are set to intensify their agitation over long-pending dearness allowance (DA) dues after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called off a scheduled meeting with union leaders in Jalandhar on Thursday, August 27, triggering angry protests at the Punjab Secretariat and a chaotic standoff in Jalandhar itself.
The “Maha Hartal” had already seen over three lakh employees across departments, boards and corporations proceed on mass casual leave, disrupting government schools, colleges, hospitals and offices statewide. The unions’ key demands include the immediate release of a pending 18% dearness allowance and 6th Pay Commission arrears, along with the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme and regularisation of thousands of contract workers.
A 16-member committee of protesting unions was deputed to hold talks with Mann at the Punjab Armed Police complex in Jalandhar, but the CM pulled out of the discussions, escalating tensions. Employees at the Deputy Commissioner’s office began raising anti-government slogans and attempted to march onto the streets, prompting police to seal the gates and deploy anti-riot vehicles. One union leader warned that employees were planning to go on an indefinite strike if the government did not initiate talks and settle their grievances.
Responding on social media, Mann said the protesting employees were part of the government’s family, but insisted that “talks and protest cannot go together,” adding that discussions would resume only after employees called off their protest.
ਮੁਲਾਜ਼ਮ ਸਾਡੇ ਪਰਿਵਾਰ ਦਾ ਅਹਿਮ ਹਿੱਸਾ ਹਨ ਅਤੇ ਅਸੀਂ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੀ ਹਰ ਜਾਇਜ਼ ਗੱਲ ਸੁਣਨ ਲਈ ਤਿਆਰ ਹਾਂ…
ਪਰ ਗੱਲਬਾਤ ਅਤੇ ਹੜਤਾਲ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਇਕੱਠੀਆਂ ਨਹੀਂ ਚੱਲ ਸਕਦੀਆਂ… ਸਰਕਾਰ ਹਰ ਮਸਲੇ ਦਾ ਹੱਲ ਕੱਢਣ ਲਈ ਵਚਨਬੱਧ ਹੈ, ਪਰ ਗੱਲਬਾਤ ਉਦੋਂ ਹੀ ਹੋਵੇਗੀ ਜਦੋਂ ਹੜਤਾਲ ਖ਼ਤਮ ਕੀਤੀ ਜਾਵੇਗੀ…— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) August 27, 2026
The standoff comes days after the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the state government to clear pending DA arrears within 15 days and barred large-scale advertising expenditure until dues were settled. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema has said the state inherited a ₹14,191-crore liability in pay commission arrears, stemming from DA installments frozen between 2016 and 2021, and that over ₹6,000 crore has already been cleared under a court-approved plan.
With no fresh date announced for talks, the employee unions appear headed toward a prolonged standoff with the AAP government. With the elections in the state set for next year, a significant percentage of the population getting angry with the Aam Aadmi Party over their inability to pay DA dues can hurt the party badly in the assembly elections.
