The Punjab Government has directed all state administrative secretaries and heads of departments to issue show-cause notices to employees who participated in the August 27 mass casual leave. The government has advised the concerned disciplinary authorities to take strict disciplinary action as per the rules against those who were unauthorisedly absent on that day.

Lakhs of state government employees and pensioners observed a ‘Maha Hartal’ on August 27 in protest against their long-pending demands, including the release of dearness allowance (DA), restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), and resolution of other long-standing service-related issues.

Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who was scheduled to meet union leaders on the 27th in Jalandhar, had cancelled the talks until they ended their strike. In a social media post, he made it clear to the striking employees that the government is committed to finding a solution to all their issues, but talks and strikes cannot take place simultaneously.