Punjab DA hike: Which govt employees will get jump from 42% to 60%? Check details here

Punjab on Friday proposed hiking dearness allowance (DA) from 42% to 60% for 85,000 state government employees, Cabinet Minister Aman Arora told reporters. He added that the recommendation will be sent to Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for final approval, PTI reported.

This will be done to “bring their DA in line with the central pay pattern,” Arora said, adding that the decision was taken by a three-member Cabinet Sub-Committee comprising Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, Social Security Minister Dr Baljit Kaur, and Arora, who is the state's Industries and Commerce Minister.

Punjab: Which employees are eligible for DA hike?

According to the minister, the move will cover those state government employees recruited after 17 July 2020, whose basic pay is based on the central government's 7th central pay commission (CPC) prescribed matrix, but DA is based on the state's pay pattern.

Thus, employees recruited before 17 July 2020, who are paid as per the Punjab Pay Commission's matrix are not included, the report added. According to the minister, 85,000 employees were recruited by the state in the last six years.

“The Mann government will give them a “Janmashtami gift” as the three-member Cabinet Sub-Committee has decided to raise their DA from 42% to 60%,” he said.

Why a DA hike for employees now?

Arora claimed that the decision aims to address salary disparity between employees recruited before July 2020 and are covered under Punjab's historically higher pay structure, and those recruited later under the central pay pattern, at lower salaries.

He added that the disparity is due to change in pay structure for those recruited post-July 2020, which was approved by the then Punjab Cabinet in December 2020. “This created two broad categories: existing employees governed by Punjab's higher pay structure and post-2020 recruits whose entry pay scales are based on the Central government's 7th CPC pattern,” Arora stated.

“Employees recruited before July 2020 continue to benefit from Punjab's higher basic pay scale. Employees recruited post-July 2020 were brought under the Central Pay Scale pattern but continued to receive Punjab's DA at 42%. This distinction could not be ignored,” he added.

Punjab employees draw ‘substantially higher’ pay

Arora reiterated claims that Punjab government employees have historically drawn substantially higher salaries than their central government counterparts. He said that employees in several major cadres receive 30-70% higher pay under Punjab-specific pay scales.

“However, the situation is different for employees recruited post-July 2020. They do not enjoy the higher Punjab entry pay scales. Therefore, the argument that a lower DA is offset by a substantially higher basic pay is far less applicable to this category,” Arora said.

The minister also spoke about the state moving the Supreme Court against the Punjab and Haryana High Court order on payment of pending DA. He said the government has placed its position regarding the post-2020 employees' DA on record before the HC and now with the SC, in a Special Leave Petition.

‘Engage through dialogue rather than confrontation’

Earlier in the day, Arora had encouraged employee unions to engage with the state through dialogue rather than confrontation, adding, “employees are the backbone of good governance. We appeal to the unions to recognise the political opportunism of opposition parties, which made promises before elections without making corresponding financial provisions.”

This came after more than 3 lakh state employees participated in a state-wide, one-day mass leave protest on 27 August to push for immediate clearance of pending DA and other demands, in a strike that affected public services. More than 150 employees presented a united front as the Manch, and over 3.50 lakh pensioners participated in the “maha hartal”.

The employees have also threatened to go on mass casual leave on 8 September if the state government does not withdraw a recent notice imposing disciplinary action against those who recorded “unauthorised absence” on 27 August.

Key demands from Punjab state government employees include — payment of pending 18% DA, implementation of Old Pension Scheme (OPS), regularisation of contractual employees, implementation of minimum wages for workers, including mid-day meal, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, restoration of the ACP scheme, and extension of Punjab pay scales to employees recruited after 17 July 2020.

‘If they truly believe in Article 14…’

Further, Arora also took a dig at the Opposition parties — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Congress (Congress / INC) for invoking Article 14 of the Constitution to demand pay parity for Punjab government employees. “If they truly believe in Article 14, let them first ask their own state governments to bring their employees' pay and allowances at par with the central pay scales before preaching to Punjab,” he stated.

(With inputs from PTI)