Punjab employees, pensioners hold statewide rally in Sangrur, announce 2-day protest on Oct 21,22
Babushahi Bureau
Sangrur (Punjab), October 10, 2026: Thousands of government employees, pensioners and honorarium-based workers staged a statewide rally in Sangrur on Saturday to protest against the Punjab government over pending demands, followed by a road blockade on the Patiala-Bathinda National Highway.
The joint coordination committee of the Punjab Employees and Pensioners Joint Front and Mulazam Manch Punjab announced that the agitation would continue, with employees planning to take collective leave on October 21 and 22 to hold protests against the state government.
Addressing the gathering, leaders accused the government of failing to fulfil its commitments and alleged that several long-pending service and pension-related demands remained unresolved despite repeated representations.
The demands include the release of pending dearness allowance (DA) instalments and arrears, restoration of the old pension scheme, regularisation of contractual and outsourced employees, and implementation of minimum wages for honorarium-based workers, including mid-day meal workers, ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers.
The unions also sought the restoration of 37 categories of allowances, including rural and border area allowances, and the Assured Career Progression (ACP) scheme. Other demands include the implementation of Punjab pay scales for employees recruited after July 17, 2020, full salaries during probation, and the absorption of computer teachers into the Education Department.
The leaders further demanded the withdrawal of the May 16, 2023, policy and the implementation of Punjab Civil Services Rules and state pay scales for special cadre teachers and other employees.
They said the government had announced an 8% increase in dearness allowance but alleged that the announcement had not resolved the employees’ wider grievances.
Unions accuse government of reneging on meeting commitment
The leaders also criticised the government over what they described as a failure to honour its commitment to hold another meeting with the coordination committee in the first week of October.
According to the unions, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had assured them during a meeting on September 18 that discussions on their demands would resume in early October. They alleged that the government had since backed away from the commitment.
The leaders also accused the Punjab government’s Chief Secretary of making false statements before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, describing the alleged conduct as condemnable. The allegation was made by the union representatives at the rally.
Warning of further escalation, the leaders said the agitation would continue until their demands were addressed. They also threatened to intensify their campaign against the Chief Minister if the outstanding issues remained unresolved.
Among those who addressed the rally were Satish Rana, Gurnam Singh Virk, Ranjit Ranwan, Sukhchain Singh Khaira, Germanjit Singh, Sushil Kumar Fauji, Karam Singh Dhanoa, Dhanwant Singh Bhathal and Mandeep Singh Sidhu, along with other representatives of employee and pensioner organisations.
The rally was attended by employees, pensioners and workers from various departments and service categories across Punjab.