As political activity intensifies ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, government employees and teacher unions have escalated pressure on ministers and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs to address long-standing demands.
Protest near minister's residence
Under the banners of the Punjab Employees and Pensioners Front, Sanjha Employees Forum, and the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union, a protest rally was held near the residence of Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO. A large number of government teacher delegates participated. To avoid being gheraoed, the minister arrived at the site and received a memorandum, assuring the delegates their demands would be considered.
Key demands
Teacher representatives Gurbinder Khaira and Ashwani Awasthi outlined key demands: 18 per cent dearness allowance (DA), restoration of the old pension scheme, regularisation of all temporary staff, and implementation of minimum pay scales for honorarium and incentive-based employees. They said these were promised during the last Assembly elections.
“Teachers and government employees have been denied dearness allowance, while the state government distributes Rs 1,000 per woman without justification,” Awasthi said. He further demanded cancellation of the central pay scale in favour of the Punjab pay scale, revision and restoration of discontinued allowances, and abolition of the Rs 200 levy described as a “jizya tax” charged from each government employee. He added that employees were overworked without due allowances or incentives.
State-level rally planned
The representatives have sought a meeting with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Finance Minister Harpal Cheema. They also plan a state-level rally in Chandigarh on July 17.
Unresolved issues after AAP victory
In the months before the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, teacher groups and job aspirants staged repeated protests against the then Congress government, including during Charanjit Singh Channi’s tenure. Despite strong teacher support contributing to AAP’s sweeping victory, unions say several issues—including regularisation, DA, and fresh recruitment—remain unresolved.
