Punjab Government’s Decision To Grant 8% Da Is The First Victory Of Employees’ Struggle: Kewal Singh Dhillon

Sep18,2026 | Jagrati Lahar Bureau | Chandigarh

Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party State President Kewal Singh Dhillon has termed the Punjab Government’s decision to grant 8% Dearness Allowance (DA) to employees as the first victory of the employees’ sustained struggle. He said the government had been compelled to take the decision following the prolonged agitation by employees.

In a statement issued here today, Dhillon said the strong agitation by Punjab’s employees had shaken the government and compelled the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to respond to their demands. He said the government’s continued indifference towards the employees’ issues had left them with no option but to resort to agitation.

Dhillon demanded that the government should also announce, at the earliest, the payment of the employees’ outstanding DA arrears of 60%, in line with the Central Government pattern.

He further said the government should demonstrate seriousness towards the remaining demands of employees and take immediate steps to resolve them.

Punjab government employees had organised a major protest rally in Chandigarh on August 7 over various demands, including the payment of DA. On August 27, employees collectively went on leave as part of their protest, severely affecting the functioning of government offices.

The Chief Minister of Punjab had scheduled a meeting with employee organisations in Jalandhar on August 27 but cancelled it at the last moment. Subsequently, show-cause notices were issued to the protesting employees. In response, the employees announced an indefinite strike.

On the second day of the strike, after the withdrawal of the show-cause notices, the employees called off their agitation.

In recent days, employees had also intensified their protests by gheraoing the residences of Punjab ministers, seeking to put pressure on the government to accept their outstanding demands.

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