Key employee union leader shifted out of Punjab civil secretariat

Khera is the coordinator of the Sanjha Mulazim Manch, the umbrella body of 154 state-level employees’ unions that went on a statewide strike on August 27

The Punjab government on Monday transferred superintendent-rank officer Sukhchain Khera, a prominent face of the employees’ protest, from the administrative branch in the state civil secretariat to the planning branch in Sector 33 here.

More than 3 lakh government employees took mass casual leave on August 27 to press the state government to accept their demands, including the release of pending dearness allowance (DA), with over 3.50 lakh pensioners also joining the protest. (HT File)

Khera is the coordinator of the Sanjha Mulazim Manch, the umbrella body of 154 state-level employees’ unions that went on a statewide strike on August 27.

More than 3 lakh government employees took mass casual leave on Thursday to press the state government to accept their demands, including the release of pending dearness allowance (DA), with over 3.50 lakh pensioners also joining the protest.

As the employees proceeded on strike, chief minister Bhagwant Mann refused to meet union representatives, saying strikes and dialogue cannot proceed together. Mann was scheduled to meet the protesters at the Punjab Armed Police headquarters in Jalandhar.

The protest also reverberated through the civil secretariat, with employees shouting slogans against Mann in the corridors of the chief minister’s office in Chandigarh.

The government had also toughened its stance, with the department of personnel writing to all special chief secretaries, additional chief secretaries, financial commissioners, principal secretaries and administrative secretaries to take action regarding unauthorised absence by employees.

The protesting employees have been demanding the release of pending 18% DA, the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and regularisation of contractual employees. They said despite repeated assurances, the state government had “failed” to address their long-pending demands.

On Sunday, the state government employees decided to intensify their agitation in the coming weeks and go on mass leave on September 8 if notices issued to them over the recent statewide strike are not withdrawn. They also decided that if their demands are not met, the employees will go on two-day mass casual leave again on October 21-22.

Despite repeated calls, Khera was not available for comments. Punjab civil secretariat employees’ union leader Sahil Sharma condemned the transfer. He said by keeping Khera out of the Punjab Civil Secretariat building, the state government feels it can suppress the voice of employees.