Harpal Singh Cheema faces mounting employee anger over pensions, pay scales and DA.
Unions plan a statewide 'Maha bandh', threatening services across more than 50 departments.
Employee unrest adds to AAP’s anti-incumbency challenges ahead of Punjab’s 2027 polls.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema is emerging as the principal target of a growing employee protest movement, with government workers stepping up demands over pensions, pay scales and dearness allowance ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Thousands of government employees gathered at Tolewal grain market in Sangrur on Sunday and marched three kilometres to Satauj, the home village of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, demanding implementation of the Old Pension Scheme. But much of the employees’ anger is directed at Cheema, whose department controls key decisions on pensions, pay scales and dearness allowance.
The protests come as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government faces anti-incumbency ahead of the polls. Punjab has around seven lakh government workers, including contractual employees, making employee grievances a significant political issue for the ruling party.
Employee Unrest
The Sangrur mobilisation follows several protests by government employees and workers across the state. On August 22, the Elementary Trained Teachers' Union protested outside Cheema's Chandigarh residence, demanding state pay scales instead of central scales for employees covered by a July 17, 2020, government notification. Police eventually intervened to break up the protest.
Earlier, on August 7, the Sanjha Mulazam Manch organised a major mobilisation demanding the release of pending dearness allowance arrears. Punjab government employees currently receive 42 per cent dearness allowance, compared with 60 per cent for Central government employees.
In July, sanitation workers from more than 150 urban local bodies went on strike, seeking a monthly wage of ₹40,000 and job regularisation. Employees of the Punjab State Power Corporation, MGNREGA, the National Health Mission and several other departments have also staged protests in recent weeks.
Employee unions have now announced a 'Maha bandh' for August 27, involving shutdowns, road dharnas and coordinated action with farmer organisations. The strike could affect more than 50 government departments, including outpatient departments of government hospitals, the State Power Corporation and transport services.
The government has invited the Sanjha Mulazam Manch and the Purani Pension Bahali Sanjha Manch for talks on the same day in an attempt to prevent widespread shutdowns.
Cheema Vs Unions
The protests have also revived comparisons with former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who faced strong employee anger during the previous Congress government. Badal joined the BJP in January 2023.
His unpopularity among employees contributed to his defeat by more than 65,000 votes from Bathinda Urban in the 2022 Assembly polls, according to employee leaders.
A leader of the Purani Pension Bahali Joint Platform said employees had given Badal a “befitting reply” and warned that the same could happen with Cheema.
Digvijay Pal Sharma, president of the Democratic Teachers Front, criticised Cheema for what employees see as a shift from protest ally to political target.
Sharma said Cheema had earlier participated in dharnas against the Congress government and assured employees that the July 17, 2020 notification would be annulled once AAP came to power. He said employees were now facing force when they protested.
Cheema has defended the government's position and pointed to the financial liabilities inherited from previous administrations. “Every job is tough and so is the Finance Department,” he said, adding that the government was listening to employees and that he had held several meetings with employee unions.
Debt And Demands
The employee demands come amid Punjab's financial constraints. The state's outstanding debt reached approximately ₹4.2 lakh crore at the end of 2025-26,as Indian Express reported.
Cheema has said the previous government left ₹14,161 crore in dearness allowance arrears. The current government has paid ₹5,000-6,000 crore so far under a proposal submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The demand for state pay scales, he said, remains under consideration.
Cheema also said staging protests and raising demands was the right of organisations, whether during elections or otherwise, when asked about their political implications for the 2027 polls.
Why It Matters For AAP?
The employee protests come as Punjab heads towards a closely contested Assembly election. The five-year term of the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government will end in February 2027.
AAP formed its first government in Punjab in 2022 after winning 92 of the 117 Assembly seats. Congress won 18 seats, the Shiromani Akali Dal three and the BJP two.
For AAP, the election has acquired added importance after the party lost power in Delhi. Punjab remains its only state government, making the 2027 contest important for its national political relevance.
The party will seek to counter anti-incumbency through welfare measures and organisational strength. In the recent civic polls, AAP won 958 of 1,977 wards, compared with 397 for Congress, 192 for SAD and 172 for BJP.
Mann has also sought to strengthen his position through welfare measures, including monthly financial assistance of ₹1,000 to women from general categories and ₹1,500 to women from Scheduled Tribe categories from July 1.
But the government is facing another challenge over a sacrilege video controversy. The video purportedly shows a man resembling Mann involved in an objectionable act near photographs of Sikh Gurus. Mann has maintained that the video is manipulated and selectively being used for political purposes.
The Akal Takht has declared Mann “Guru Dokhi” and “Khalsa Panth Virodhi”. It has also asked the Punjab government to amend the recently passed Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026, or the anti-sacrilege law, saying it was passed without adequate consultation with Sikh religious institutions.
The Akal Takht has objected to provisions for a legally designated custodian and to the requirement for the SGPC to maintain a central register and assign a unique identification number to every copy of the Guru Granth Sahib.
With Cheema facing mounting employee anger and the Mann government dealing with wider political and religious controversies, the handling of these demands could become an important test for AAP ahead of the 2027 polls.
