GNDU non-teaching staffers stage protest

Guru Nanak Dev University Non-Teaching Employees Association, with the support of the Officers Association and Teachers Association, carried out a march with thousands of employees to protest the Punjab government's backtracking on several poll promises.

President of the GNDU Non-Teaching Employees Association, Hardeep Singh Nagra, spoke against the Punjab Government, saying that there is a wide gap between what the government says and what it actually does.

He criticised the government's U-turn in policies and reminded that the promise made to employees-to implement the Old Pension Scheme in Punjab-has still not been fulfilled even after issuing a notification. "Employees in Punjab are receiving 16 per cent less DA (Dearness Allowance) compared to neighbouring states. The arrears of the old DA also remain pending. IAS and PCS officers are still being given the full DA due to them. The 4-9-14 policy, which used to remove disparities among employees, has been discontinued. The Central Government is going to implement the 8th Pay Commission for its employees in January 2026, but the Punjab Government has still not fully implemented the 6th Pay Commission's recommendations," he pointed out.

"The government claims that it wants to raise the standard of education, but the educational institutions (universities) are not even being given their due grants," he said.

The protest march was also addressed by Teachers' Association president Dr Balwinder Singh, secretary Rajinder Singh, Officers Association secretary Manpreet Singh, Aman Arora and Ajmer Singh.