SSA office staff protest salary cut, demand regularisation of jobs

Jalandhar, October 16

The Sarv Sikhiya Abhiyan Mid-Day Meal Office Employees Union and the IERT Union Employees today held a protest outside the press club in Jalandhar against the state government seeking regular jobs. They said the government’s assurances have not been implemented to date. They also burnt an effigy of the government during their demonstration today.

The members said despite the decision of Chief Minister Punjab Bhagwant Mann to regularise the contractual employees, the education department, has not regularised the employees for the past 17 months. Despite government orders to remove the salary cuts of office employees, salary cuts are being imposed. They said in the past 17 months, the department has neither solved the problem of salary cuts of the employees nor ensured job regularisation. They also said office employees have not received the salary of September 2023.

They said the Education Department had been discriminating against office employees and IERT employees every time.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Office Employees Union leaders Shobhit Bhagat, Gagandeep Sharma, Sukhraj, Gagan Syal said salary cuts of about Rs 5,000 rupees per month was being made in the salary of the office employees. Along with this, the increase in the salary of mid-day meal office employees from the year 2019 was also stopped.

Leaders said the office employees and IERT employees gathered to protest this in the district today an ultimatum was issued to the Deputy Commissioner and the District Education Officer that employees would hold black badges protests across the state on October 17 and 18 and will also hold a state-level meeting at the education minister’s constituency Sri Anandpur Sahib on October 19, if their demands were unaddressed. They said a large gathering would be organised at Anandpur Sahib on October 19.