PATNA: After hearing the submissions made by the
counsel of contractual teachers from
Bihar as well as the central and state governments on the
issue of equal pay for equal work, the
Supreme Court on Tuesday fixed July 12 as the date for its final hearing in the case.
Bihar Madhyamik Shikhsak Sangh’s counsel Abhay Kumar told TOI over the phone that a division bench of Justice A K Goel and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman decided to conduct a final hearing as the state and central governments could not adhere to the court’s earlier directive to chalk out a plan for making equal pay for equal work to contractual teachers.
Kumar said attorney general K K Venugopal, appearing for the central government, submitted that the Centre was ready to give a pay hike to the contractual teachers after consultation with the state government but paying salaries on a par with their regular counterparts would be difficult.
The Bihar Madhyamik Shikhsak Sangh’s counsel did not agree to any proposal for hike. “We urged the court that the contractual teachers should be paid only on the basis of the Patna high court’s order on equal pay for equal work,” Kumar said.
On March 15, the SC had directed the central and state governments to jointly chalk out a plan on how the contractual teachers could be paid on a par with their regular counterparts.
Later, the state government proposed 20% to 30% hike in salary of contractual teachers after they cleared an examination. This has been opposed by the teachers’ association.
A division bench of chief justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Anil Kumar Upadhyay of the Patna high court on October 31 last year ruled that contractual teachers were eligible for equal pay for equal work and had ordered the state government to pay them arrears from the year 2009.
