Punjab teachers strike work over UGC pay scales

Ravneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 2

Higher education in state government universities and colleges has come to a halt as the faculty members led by the Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisation (PFUCTO) have decided to suspend all teaching and academic duties over their demands of implementation of the 7th UGC Pay Commission scales and revocation of delinking of UGC pay scales of new assistant professors.

The PFUCTO, joined by seven organisations, has been holding protests over its demands for long. The protests were held in Chandigarh and at several universities, including Punjabi University and Panjab University. They said the teaching and academic work had now been put on indefinite halt in all five universities, 48 government and 160 government-aided colleges. Federation president HS Kingra is now on an indefinite hunger strike.

General secretary Jagwant Singh said the Centre had notified the revised pay scales in 2017 but their implementation remained pending. “Other states have already implemented them. Importantly, the 7th UGC pay scales are the central pay commission scales which are implemented from the date of notification. They can’t be ignored.”

He said, “By delinking pay of new recruits from UGC pay scales, which has been done as per the state’s recent notification, the government is pushing higher education into a state where it will be rendered without research and development.”

The federation members said they had brought the matter to the notice of all officials concerned, including the CM and the Higher Education Minister. “We submitted a memorandum to Higher Education Minister Pargat Singh when he came to Punjabi University,” Punjabi University Teachers’ Union president Bhupinder Singh Virk said. Secretary, Higher Education, Krishan Kumar and Minister Pargat Singh did not answer the phone despite repeated attempts.

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