The JAC of AMTUC and AMGEO, along with MGSF, has rejected the Manipur government's 3% DA/DR hike, stating it is inadequate and that the ongoing cease work strike will continue.
Imphal, July 15: The Manipur government's decision to increase Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) for state government employees, pensioners and family pensioners by three percentage points has failed to end the ongoing agitation by employees' organisations, with multiple unions declaring that the enhancement is inadequate and that the cease work strike will continue.
The development follows the Finance Department's Office Memorandum dated July 14, 2026, which announced that DA and DR payable to state government employees, pensioners and family pensioners would be enhanced from 42 per cent to 45 per cent, effective from July 1, 2026.
Issued by the Pay Implementation Cell with the approval of the Governor of Manipur, the order states that the revised DA would be calculated on basic pay or basic pension. It also contains provisions relating to Dearness Relief for pensioners, rounding off of payments and implementation by pension disbursing authorities and the Accountant General.
However, employee organisations have maintained that the announcement does not adequately address their long-pending demands.
In a representation submitted to the Chief Secretary (Finance) on July 15, the Joint Administrative Council (JAC) of the All Manipur Trade Unions' Council (AMTUC) and the All Manipur Government Employees' Organisation (AMGEO) expressed strong resentment over the government's decision.
The council argued that the three-percentage-point enhancement does not bring state employees on par with Central Government employees in terms of pending Dearness Allowance revisions.
According to the memorandum, DA and DR instalments equivalent to those granted by the Central Government remain pending from July 1, 2023, onwards. The council listed six pending revisions—4 per cent from July 1, 2023; 4 per cent from January 1, 2024; 3 per cent from July 1, 2024; 2 per cent from January 1, 2025; 3 per cent from July 1, 2025; and 2 per cent from January 1, 2026—amounting to a cumulative 18 percentage points.
The JAC stated that these instalments should be released progressively in accordance with the Central Government pattern, even if implemented through phased notional payments.
The memorandum contended that the latest enhancement violates what it described as the Central norm governing payment of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief.
Apart from the DA issue, the council also maintained that the government has not addressed its remaining eight demands.
Consequently, the JAC announced that the ceased work strike called by AMTUC and AMGEO "cannot be suspended."
The representation was signed by JAC President Rajkumar Basumani and Secretary General Thiyam Momocha.
The Manipur Government Services Federation (MGSF) also described the three per cent enhancement as unsatisfactory and declared that the ongoing cease work strike would continue until the employees' demands are fulfilled.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the federation stated that the cease work strike launched jointly by MGSF, the Manipur Secretariat Services Association (MSSA) and the Manipur Secretariat Peons' Union (MSPU) would not be withdrawn merely because of the DA announcement.
According to the federation, the government has not addressed several other demands raised by employees' organisations.
These include increasing the retirement age of state government employees from 60 years to 62 years, regularisation of contract employees, and discontinuation of the re-engagement of retired personnel.
The federation stated that the government's latest order has not resolved these broader service-related issues and therefore cannot be treated as a satisfactory settlement.
The MGSF further announced that a joint protest meeting of state government employees and pensioners under the banner of MGSF and the Manipur State Pensioners' Union (MSPU) will be held at Chingamakha on July 18.
The federation has appealed to leaders of employees' organisations and pensioners from various government departments to participate in the meeting.
While the Finance Department has issued the revised DA order, there has been no official response to the objections raised by the employees' organisations regarding the adequacy of the enhancement or their additional service-related demands.
With both the JAC of AMTUC and AMGEO and the MGSF-led employees' organisations reiterating that their cease work strikes will continue, the dispute over Dearness Allowance and broader service conditions remains unresolved.
