Punjab Employees burn CM Mann’s effigies across state over DA, OPS, other pending demands; View Pics
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, August 28, 2026: Punjab government employees and pensioners on Friday intensified their agitation over pending Dearness Allowance (DA), pension-related demands and other long-standing issues, burning effigies of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann at several places across the state.
The protests were held on the call of the Joint Coordination Committee, formed by the Punjab Employees and Pensioners Joint Front and the Sanjha Mulazam Manch, Punjab. The demonstrations came a day after government employees observed a statewide mass casual leave on August 27 as part of their ongoing agitation.
At the Punjab Civil Secretariat and district headquarters, protesters raised slogans against the Chief Minister and the state government, accusing it of avoiding dialogue with employee representatives and failing to address their demands.
In Hoshiarpur, employees staged a demonstration outside the Civil Surgeon’s Office and burnt an effigy of Mann. Protesters also burnt copies of a government communication issued regarding the mass casual leave, as well as the Chief Minister’s social media post in which he had stated that a meeting and an ongoing protest could not take place simultaneously.
Union leaders accused the government of adopting an “arrogant and indifferent” attitude towards employees and demanded immediate implementation of the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s directions concerning payment of DA.
Aujla Backs Employees’ Protest
Amid the escalating confrontation, Congress MP from Amritsar Gurjeet Singh Aujla extended support to the protesting employees. In a post on X, Aujla described government employees as the “backbone” of Punjab’s administration and said their long-pending demands could not be ignored.
Aujla urged the Punjab government to immediately release the pending 18 per cent DA, implement the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and regularise eligible contractual and outsourced employees who have served for years.
He also called upon the AAP government to sit with employee representatives and find a permanent solution through dialogue instead of making announcements.
“I have consistently raised employees’ issues inside and outside Parliament and will continue to stand with them,” Aujla said.
BJP Leader Also Targets Mann Government
BJP leader Sarabjeet Singh Jhinjer also criticised the state government over its handling of the employees’ agitation. Reacting to Thursday’s protest at the Punjab Civil Secretariat, Jhinjer said it was “unprecedented” that employees who had once welcomed Mann when he came to power were now protesting against him.
Jhinjer said the slogans raised against the Chief Minister reflected employees’ anger over what he described as the government’s failure to fulfil its promises. He also condemned the government’s refusal to meet protesting employees without the strike being called off.
Unions List Multiple Demands
The employee and pensioner organisations said the agitation would continue until their demands are addressed. Their key demands include release of 18 per cent pending DA, implementation of the 2.59 multiplication factor for pensioners, restoration of the Old Pension Scheme, regularisation of contractual employees and implementation of minimum pay scales for honorarium and incentive-based workers.
They are also demanding reduction of the probation period to one year with full salary, withdrawal of central pay scales in favour of Punjab pay scales, restoration of discontinued allowances after revision and abolition of the ₹200 development tax.
The unions warned that the agitation could have political consequences in the 2027 Assembly elections, saying employees, pensioners, farmers and other sections of the workforce would oppose AAP candidates if their demands remained unresolved.