Punjab Raises DA by 8% for 8 Lakh Employees and Pensioners
Punjab has raised Dearness Allowance by 8 per cent for about 8 lakh employees and pensioners, with the two instalments credited from October.
The Punjab government has announced an 8 per cent increase in Dearness Allowance for roughly 8 lakh state employees and pensioners. The hike, announced on September 18, is made up of two 4 per cent instalments, and the government says the enhanced amount will be reflected in accounts from October.
The decision comes amid sustained friction between the administration and sections of the employee community. Staff unions have repeatedly pressed demands over pending DA, arrears, pension-related matters, allowances, salaries during probationary periods and the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme. Protests by employees, pensioners and scheme workers have intensified in recent weeks.
Government employees were a key constituency for the Aam Aadmi Party in the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, when the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme featured prominently in its pitch. After taking office, the Bhagwant Mann government announced an in-principle decision to restore the scheme in October 2022 and notified it the following month.
Alongside the allowance revision, the government has moved to reset its engagement with employee representatives. Mann has said monthly meetings with staff representatives will be compulsory, and has promised to examine long-pending demands, including the 2.59 pension multiplication factor, OPS-related issues, restoration of allowances and Assured Career Progression.