11% hike in DA for Punjab staff, pensioners from July 1

11% hike in DA for Punjab staff, pensioners from July 1

Move To Cost State Extra ₹440cr Per Month

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chandigarh: 02.11 2021

Acceding to the demand of the state government employees and pensioners, the Punjab cabinet on Monday decided to enhance the dearness allowance (DA) by 11% , taking it to 28% from 17%. The hike will be implemented retrospectively from July 1, 2021.

After the cabinet meeting, chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi said the employees were the backbone of the state administration and reiterated his government’s “firm commitment to accord the highest priority to their welfare”. He said with this decision, the state government would have to bear an additional monthly burden of Rs 440 crore on account of enhanced DA.

Channi said the state government had resolved most of employees’ issues to their satisfaction and resultantly they have called off their strike and resumed the work with immediate effect. He also announced that the employees’ who were recruited after January 1, 2016, would also be given the benefit of a minimum 15% increase in the revised pay at par with other employees. However, the pay of a junior employee would not be fixed higher than that of his senior while fixing the revised pay.

Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi addresses a press conference on Monday

Bill for new varsities soon

Decks have been cleared for the establishment of Lamrin Tech Skills University Punjab at Railmajra, Balachaur, SBS Nagar, and Plaksha University Punjab at IT City, SAS Nagar with Punjab cabinet’s approval for conversion of ordinances into bills. According to a spokesperson of the chief minister’s office, the cabinet also gave approval to place these bills in the forthcoming session of Punjab legislative assembly for conversion into Acts.

‘State agreed to 15% pay hike’

Sukhchain Singh Khaira, convener of the Punjab Sanjha Mulajam Manch, said the state government has agreed to also increase the 15% salary of those employees who have joined the service after January 2016. Earlier, they were not being given this benefit. “Now the state government has given new option and the employees can opt for the benefit of the 6th Pay Commission either from the date of joining the service or from the date of promotion,” Khaira said.

‘Black Diwali’ for NHM contract staff

After five day of hunger strike for the regularisation of their services, Punjab’s National Health Mission (NHM) contractual employees will now observe a "black Diwali" outside chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s residence. On the fifth day of their protest on Monday at Kharar’s civil hospital, the association of 12,000 contractual employees also demanded equal pay for equal work. Association president Dr Inderjeet Singh Rana submitted a memorandum of demands to the senior medical officer.