Panjab Vidhan Sabha (State Assembly) staff has been on strike since 8 Nov. Over 50,000 employees working in more than 50 government departments are demanding the implementation of the old pension scheme, release of pending dearness allowance, and regularization of employees. Salaries of nearly 200,000 government employees have been delayed. The cabinet sub-committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema held a meeting with the representatives of the Panjab State Ministerial Services Union (PSMSU) on 5 Dec. After the meeting, the PSMSU chief Amrik Singh said, ‘The response from the state government was not positive.’ The employees extended the strike to 11 Dec. On 9 Dec, Panjab CM Bhagwant Mann agreed to meet the striking employees on 4 Jan. Meanwhile, on 10 Dec, the CM announced the Bhagwant Mann Sarkar, Tuhade Dwaar (Bhagwant Mann Govt., At Your Doorstep) plan. He said the plan is aimed at providing people with citizen centric services on their doorstep. It is strange that the new plan is being launched in the name of CM Mann when these services are the rights of citizens. The larger question is how the government will fulfill its promise when its staff is on strike. Meanwhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Panjab government to stop the salaries of the heads of its education and finance departments as long as they do not grant service benefits to a group of teachers who had moved court over a decade back. Despite a court order in the teachers’ favor in 2018, the petitioners were not given the benefits.
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