School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi met a delegation of agitating second-grade teachers (SGTs) who have been on an indefinite hunger strike for over four days at his camp office in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He tried to persuade them to withdraw the strike but the agitating protestors stood firm in their demand regarding their salaries.
One of the members of the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers Association (SSTA) said, “We went to meet the minister today but the talks failed. We will continue our hunger strike.” He further added that the Education Minister said that he needs time to discuss this issue with Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin. The minister told the SSTA that revising salaries of 15,000 SGTs means that the government will incur an additional expenditure of Rs 25 crore per month.
According to the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers Association, a pay discrepancy of Rs 3,107 is faced by teachers who were appointed in schools after June 2009 than the teachers appointed on or before May 31, 2009. Moreover, after the implementation of the seventh pay commission, the gap widened further, stated The New Indian Express report.
Owing to this pay discrepancy, over 3,000 second-grade teachers have been on an indefinite hunger strike since December 27, at the DPI (Directorate Of Public Instructions). According to The New Indian Express report, at least 23 of the protestors are undergoing treatment at a hospital, said the SSTA. On Friday, December 30, the BJP in Tamil Nadu extended their support to the protestors and a team of BJP workers, headed by VP Duraisamy, met the teachers.
