6% DA for Punjab govt employees, pensioners

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Friday announced a 6% dearness allowance (DA) for its employees and pensioners with effect from February 1, 2019.

The decision, which will benefit nearly 3.25 lakh employees and three lakh pensioners, was announced by chief minister Amarinder Singh during the cabinet meeting, an official statement said. The decision would entail an additional annual financial liability of Rs 720 crore for the state exchequer.

The Punjab government employees’ unions, however, rejected the DA announced by the government and termed it as an election stunt.

Calling it a mockery, the Punjab Civil Secretariat Staff Association, Punjab Civil Secretariat’s Joint Action Committee, the Punjab State Sub-ordinate Service Union and Sanjha Mulazam Manch said the government was behaving like a “bankrupt regime”. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal also condemned the Congress government saying that it was trying to befool the employees.