Post acceptance, disputes arise among teacher unions

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, October 17

After the Education Department claimed that nearly 450 teachers have accepted Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s offer of regularisation of services at Rs 15,300 per month, on probation for three years, some internal disputes between Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha and different Teachers’ Union Manch has been reported.

As per sources, the activists and teachers under the Sarkari Sikhya School Bachao Manch, EGS/AIE/STR/ Teacher Union, educations providers, Computer Teacher Union, SSA/RMSA, among others have been putting the blame of cut in the salaries of teachers in lieu of regularisation on Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha leaders.

As per the manch’s activists, morcha members first had a meeting with the government, where government intimated them about their proposal of regularisation on such conditions. The members then accepted the proposal of the government and gave free hand to government to regularise teachers.

An inside source of the teachers’ union while talking to the Jalandhar Tribune has said, “The Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha is unnecessarily holding protests and making teachers sit on fasts unto death and claiming that the protest will continue. However, CM had clearly said the matter will now be discussed in the winter session and the teachers wishing to accept the proposal will have to make do with the same salary offered.”

He said, “Teachers are angry over the morcha convener who misguided the teachers and is now showing sympathy, when nothing can be done.”

Another member said with no unity among Morcha and Manchs in the state, the teachers of the various manch’s have accepted the proposal, while the teachers under morcha are protesting on roads.”

Leader of Elementary teachers’ union Jaswinder Singh Sandhu said, “The future of teachers in the state could only be secured if all the teachers come under a single banner whether they are contractual teachers or teachers recruited through various societies or government teachers.”

He also said the fight between morcha and the manch is hampering the future of the teachers, while the state government is benefitting from the disputes and luring the teachers to accept regularisation on their conditions.”

He said earlier, even local body minister Navjot Sidhu had publicly declared that the manch and the morcha should come up with a state-level committee, if they wanted their demands to be heard. Meanwhile, dividing teachers under the banner of manch and morcha is like dividing the unity of lakhs of teachers, he further added.