Chandigarh/Jalandhar, Aug. 28 -- Hours before his scheduled meeting with protesting employees' unions on Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann refused to meet them, even as a statewide strike brought work across government departments to a grinding halt, causing widespread inconvenience to people.

"Employees are an important part of our family and we are ready to listen to every legitimate concern of theirs...But dialogue and strikes cannot proceed together," Mann posted on X before he was to meet the protesters at the Punjab Armed Police headquarters in Jalandhar at 1 pm.

While the government said that action would be taken against absentee employees, the protesters struck a defiant note, saying they will decide on the next cou...