Punjab Employees' Strike Goes On to Day 2 After Talks With Chief Secretary Failਮੁੱਖ ਸਕੱਤਰ ਨਾਲ ਗੱਲਬਾਤ ਬੇਸਿੱਟਾ, ਪੰਜਾਬ ਮੁਲਾਜ਼ਮਾਂ ਦੀ ਹੜਤਾਲ ਦੂਜੇ ਦਿਨ ਵੀ ਜਾਰੀ

Punjab's two-day strike by government employees will go on for a second day on Thursday, 22 October 2026, after a meeting with the Chief Secretary on Wednesday produced no breakthrough, Babushahi reported. Thursday is also the day the Punjab Assembly session meets.

What happened on day one

Lakhs of employees took mass casual leave on Wednesday and protested outside Deputy Commissioners' offices across the state, according to the Tribune and Akashvani. Rallies were planned in Chandigarh outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat and in Mohali near PUDA Bhawan. Unions put the number of participants at around three to four lakh; those figures are the unions' own estimates.

What the talks achieved

Babushahi reported that employees came out of the Chief Secretary's meeting raising slogans and that the strike stays on for 22 October. Details of the discussion were not immediately available. Earlier in the day union leaders, including Sukhchain Khera, said they had turned down the government's offer of a meeting and wanted Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to keep his promise of a meeting with all union leaders, the Tribune and TrueScoop reported.

What the employees want

The demands include restoration of the Old Pension Scheme, release of pending dearness allowance instalments and arrears, and other service-related issues. Union leaders say a 18 September meeting with the Chief Minister offered only 8 per cent DA, and a promised follow-up in the first week of October never took place.

Assembly day and bus services

The Sanjha Mulazam Front has said employees will stay away from work during the Assembly session on 22 October and has warned of a bigger agitation if action is taken against those on leave. Contractual workers of Punjab Roadways and PRTC-PUNBUS have also halted buses, North News reported, adding to commuters' trouble.

When does the Punjab employees' strike end?

It is planned as a two-day mass casual leave, 21 and 22 October 2026, and unions say it continues on Thursday because the Chief Secretary's talks failed.

What are the employees demanding?

Old Pension Scheme restoration, pending DA instalments and arrears, and other service-related demands, according to the reports.

Will government offices work on 22 October?

Work is likely to be disrupted, since employees have said they will not attend duty, including Assembly-related work.