Teachers flay pay cut, stage protest

Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, October 11

Teachers protested against the Education Department and the state government here on Thursday evening.

Carrying fire lamps, they carried out a protest march from Chattar Singh Park to the residence of Cabinet Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and burnt an effigy of the state government. They raised slogans against the state government, Education Secretary Krishan Kumar, Education Minister OP Soni and Ashu. Under the banner of the Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha, they were protesting the three-fourth cut in the salaries of SSA/RMSA and model school teachers after regularisation. The police had put up a barricade to stop the teachers, but they broke through it and reached the Ashu’s residence.

Raising slogans, teachers demanded that pay without cut should be given to them.

Kavita Joshi, a teacher, said they joined ten years ago at a higher salary than what is being given to them now. “Can these ministers run a household with such a low salary?” she said.

“We have devoted a major part of our lives to the service and now when we have reached our middle age, we are being treated brutally like this,” Anita Aggarwal, another teacher said.

“We were already drawing lower salaries, but now this massive pay cut is unbearable. Those who have taken this decision must have a dead conscience,” another teacher said.

He said Education Secretary Krishan Kumar falsely claimed that the teachers were ready for this pay cut in lieu of regularisation, rather than false online survey, he should come down and get signatures from teachers in this regard.

“We do not fear suspensions anymore because the government has already crossed all limits and we will not rest until this decision is reversed,” Jasvir, one of the protesters.

Several regular teachers, who were part of the protest, said all teachers are united against the decision. “If the government believes that these teachers are alone and can be mistreated, they are mistaken, because no regular teacher will allow this injustice to happen,” one of them said.