Finally, CM to meet teachers on July 23

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, July 14

After having cancelled the meeting for three times in the past, the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, will meet various teacher union heads on July 23 at his residence in Chandigarh. 

The CM has asked the teacher unions to call off their protest and assured them their demands would be heard.

Teacher unions demanded a meeting with the CM after some teachers were sent on deputation at a mass level in Ludhiana on March 26. 

Thereafter, a meeting was held on April 27 at the CM’s residence, but the demands of the teachers were put on hold due to the Shahkot bypoll.

Subsequently, a meeting with the CM and other officials was schedule to be held on June 4, but due to pre-occupation of the CM, the meeting was again postponed to June 19 and finally to June 23, which also never took place. 

However, the meeting has been fixed for July 23.

Major demands of teachers include the regularisation of contractual teachers’ services, who are getting Rs 5,000 per month, and the cancellation of the seven-year transfer policy.

Regularising the services of contractual teachers was one of the pre-poll promises of the Congress before the Assembly elections.  

The party had promised to regularise the services of teachers, who were appointed during the SAD-BJP regime on a contractual basis.

Jaswinder Singh Sidhu, an activist of the Sarkari School Sikhya Bachao Manch, said, “We all wanted a meeting with the Chief Minister, but he was postponing it for long. But by doing so, the Chife Minister cannot ignore our demands. Earlier, we decided to hold a rally on vehicles at Moti Mahal in Patiala on Saturday. But we cancelled the protest after the Chife Minister gave the date for the meeting.”

“If our demands are not met before August 6, we would be forced to initiate ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ and hold protests,” he added.