Around 85,000 Punjab government employees recruited after July 17, 2020, are set to benefit from a major revision in their dearness allowance (DA), with the state government preparing to raise it from the existing 42 per cent to 60 per cent.The announcement was made by Punjab Industries minister Aman Arora here on Friday, following the recommendation of the Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted by the government to examine the grievances of employees. The committee comprises Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, Social Security Minister Dr Baljit Kaur and Arora.The move is significant as these employees were recruited on the basis of Central pay scales, which are lower than the scales recommended by the Sixth Punjab Pay Commission and applicable to employees recruited under the state pay structure before July 2020.“While 71,000 employees recruited by the AAP government stand to benefit from this decision, another 14,000 recruited during the previous Congress regime will also be the beneficiaries of this decision. It was on the instructions of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann that the Sub-committee decided to remove the pay anomalies between employees. We will be sending the recommendation to the CM for his final nod,” said Arora.On Thursday, the government had indicated that it was willing to address anomalies arising from the recruitment of employees on Central pay scales after 2020. While Arora has claimed that the proposed increase in DA is part of the measures being considered to bridge some of the disparity faced by this category of employees, the decision is likely to leave around 3.15 lakh employees recruited before 2020 waiting for relief on their long-pending demands, particularly the release of their outstanding DA instalments.This could have an important bearing on the ongoing confrontation between the government and its employees.The decision to offer specific relief to employees recruited after 2020, while leaving the larger pre-2020 workforce without a comparable announcement, could alter the dynamics of the agitation. Employee organisations have so far projected the agitation as a common fight over DA arrears and other service-related demands. The latest announcement, however, could create a divide between employees governed by different pay structures.The announcement comes at a politically sensitive time, with employee organisations preparing for another round of mass casual leave on September 8. Employees had earlier observed a mass casual leave on August 27 to press for their demands, including the release of pending DA dues.The government subsequently directed departments to issue show-cause notices to employees who had remained absent on August 27, prompting strong opposition from employee organisations. The All India State Government Employees Federation has also warned of nationwide protests if punitive action is taken against Punjab employees and the notices are not withdrawn by September 7.The government has been attempting to defuse the agitation through negotiations. Yesterday, three senior ministers—Cheema, Arora and Dr Baljit Kaur—had publicly conveyed the government’s willingness to sit across the table with employees and pensioners and resolve their grievances.The employee agitation has acquired considerable political significance for the AAP government ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Punjab has around four lakh government employees and 3.5 lakh pensioners, giving the issue a sizeable electoral footprint, with employees’ families also forming an important constituency.