Revoke leaders’ transfers or face protest: Teacher unions

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, August 14

Resentment is brewing among the Education Department’s ministerial staff after 10 union leaders, who were in the forefront of a protest on August 7, were shifted to other districts.

The Ministerial Staff Union (Education Department) and the Democratic Mulazim Federation (DMF), two main unions of non-teaching and teaching staff, respectively, say they will launch statewide protests if the transfers are not revoked.

The leaders were transferred after they held a protest in front of the DPI (S) office in Mohali on August 7 against the decision to shift 1,021 clerks. Officials say the transfers were done as part of the rationalisation policy.

Education Minister OP Soni said action had been taken because the leaders were protesting during duty hours. Pawanjit Singh Sidhu, president, Ministerial Staff Union, however, claimed that they had taken leave from office before coming to Mohali.

On transfers of clerks, Sidhu said rationalisation was undertaken only where there was excess staff, but in this case, at least 1,000 clerical posts were vacant.

“The last recruitment was done in 2013-14 and after that not a single clerk was appointed. Instead of asking clerks to manage work in two schools, in some cases even three, why can’t the government recruit more? We have been transferred citing administrative grounds, but the truth is that we have been punished for holding a genuine protest,” said Sidhu, claiming that he had been transferred twice in 10 months.

During the stint of Aruna Chaudhury as Education Minister, he was shifted from Nawanshahr to Kapurthala after he led a protest in Jalandhar.

Now after the Mohali rally, he has been sent to Mansa from Kapurthala. Likewise, union leader Sanjeev Kalra, too, has been shifted twice in recent months for leading a protest.

Bhupinder Singh Waraich, president, DMF, warned that an agitation would be launched if the “arbitrary orders” were not withdrawn.