Teachers oppose drastic salary cut decision of Punjab cabinet

LUDHIANA: Teachers of SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) and RMSA (Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan) protested outside the deputy commissioner’s office on Wednesday and burnt chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s effigy, saying that if a 65% salary cut was imposed on them, they would observe a ‘fast-unto-death’ from October 7. They said accepting the pay offer of Rs15,000 was ‘suicidal’ and ‘unacceptable’.

About 9,000 teachers have been working under SSA, RMSA, and Model Adarsh for the past about 10 years. The SSA and RMSA teachers’ union said it had all the legal and constitutional documents in favour of regularization of teachers with full benefits, and all allowances from the very first day. But the Punjab government had ignored all the documents, and was forcibly imposing the condition of Rs15,000 basic pay to regularize the services of the teachers.

State president of the Model Adarsh Employees Association (Punjab) Dr Amrit Pal Singh Sidhu said if the Congress government did not pay heed to all the documents and imposed a drastic salary cut, which was unconstitutional, then it would have to face sharp reaction from teachers. He said: “If the salary cut is imposed on teachers, then a ‘fast-unto-death’ would be observed starting October 7 by teachers to get their rights back. Accepting a pay offer of Rs15,000 is suicidal, and unacceptable. We will arise and awaken our countrymen before we die. In that case, the death of teachers will not be a natural death, but a death caused by the Congress party.”

The union leaders have demanded the Punjab government to present all the documents as evidence of approval by 94% of teachers of Punjab who accept the basic pay, as was claimed by education secretary Krishan Kumar. “On the other hand, the union will present all the documents in front of the media, showing the disapproval of teachers over their basic pay. In this case, teachers will demand requisite action against officers responsible for misleading the cabinet. We want to make it clear that the whole protest was not just to increase salaries, but also to fight against the injustice of curtailing the salaries,” added Sidhu.

He further said: “The Congress government will be fully responsible for the actions that follow if they decide to impose the drastic salary cut. Education department officials should resist himself from making such statements that employees had agreed to join on low pay-scales.” Teachers claiming 10 years service in the education department made it a point that they had given the golden period of their lives to the education department, and now when they had to bring up their children and look after their elders and parents at the same time, the government was making policies that threaten the survival of teachers.

The teachers have also appealed to different sections of society that the government was formulating deadly policies which would ruin everyone. “So people should rise above party politics and support the teachers’ struggle so that the right to education and welfare of common people is saved from devastation,” added Sidhu. The leader also said the government was not fulfilling the promises it made before the elections. The teachers have demanded full grade pay with the fundamental right of job regularization in the education department.

State president of Teacher’s Union Punjab, Didar Singh Mudki, had approached some cabinet ministers including Bharat Bhushan Aashu, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Razia Sultana, Manpreet Singh Basal, Balbir Singh Sidhu, and Brahm Mohindra. Efforts were also being made to meet other cabinet ministers.

Sidhu further added: “All the cabinet ministers we have met have proclaimed that the salary cut is wrong, and assured us they would give a second thought to the rights and demands of teachers, and lend all possible support to us.”

According to information from various sources, the report presented by officials of the education department to the cabinet that 94% teachers and Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha (26 teacher unions on a single platform) are accepting the 75% salary cut is false and officials are misleading the cabinet.

To counter the reaction of the false data presented by officials of the education department, the teacher unions presented proformas signed by teachers showing their resentment and non-acceptance of the salary cut to the cabinet ministers. Congress minister Surinder Kumar Dawar agreed with teacher unions on the issue.