Punjab teachers’ stir off, govt to review pay, revokes transfers

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 1

Teachers owing allegiance to the Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha today called off their 56-day-old strike here after Punjab Education Minister OP Soni gave an assurance to review their regularisation at a monthly salary of Rs 15,300. 

Soni said “Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh will meet the teachers in the next 10 days. The financial condition of the state was not stable, so could not offer regularisation at the full scale”.

He said there was a lot of misunderstanding, “but now things have been sorted out”. 

The minister will hold a meeting with the morcha leaders on December 4 before the teachers meet the CM.

Soni announced that all orders of transfer, suspension and termination would be revoked immediately. 

The minister also assured that 5,178 teachers awaiting full pay since November 2017 will get full pay-scale from January 2019. As many as 8,886 teachers recruited under RMSA, SSA, Adarsh and Model school were on 

an indefinite strike since October 7 after the Punjab Cabinet decided on regularisation of services of these teachers at a monthly salary of Rs 15,300. The teachers were demanding that their pay (around Rs 42,000) be protected. Davinder Singh Punia, co-convener, Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha, said, “They (government) have agreed to review the decision of regularisation at a salary of Rs 15,300 and revoke all the suspensions and transfers.”

Another union leader Hardeep Toderpur said, “It was a long fought battle, but we are satisfied that our demands will be considered by the state government.”

Rap for protesters

Chandigarh: A day before the scheduled protests in Patiala by teachers, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday minced no words to say that the counsel for teachers’ unions was apparently not inclined to furnish an undertaking on re-compensating in the event of any damage to life or property. TNS