Chandigarh: Decade-long wait ends as PU staff set to get ₹175-cr arrears

After nearly a decade of anticipation, both teaching and non-teaching staff at Panjab University (PU) are finally set to receive their long-pending arrears, owed since the implementation of Seventh Pay Commission and Punjab Sixth Pay Commission, respectively, in January 2016.

The arrears, totalling a massive ₹175.51 crore, are expected to be disbursed by the end of this month. The dues pertain to the revised salary scales of 1,515 non-teaching staff and 1,378 teachers, covering the period from January 2016 to March and December 2022, respectively.

The amount employees will receive varies, with teaching faculty set to receive between ₹6 lakh to ₹16 lakh after deductions, depending on their post and years of service.

While the Punjab Sixth Pay Commission was rolled out in January 2016, it was not adopted by PU for non-teaching staff until March 2022. Similarly, the central Seventh Pay Commission, was also implemented in January 2016, but it wasn’t until January 2023 that teaching staff began receiving salaries as per the new pay structure.

Even after the monthly salaries were hiked, the owed arrears hit a delay. This has finally been addressed and the funds are set to reach employees’ accounts soon.

This announcement was made by PU vice-chancellor Renu Vig during a special meeting with employees at the Law Auditorium on Wednesday evening. She shared that the Union ministry of education had sent the necessary letters to the University Grants Commission (UGC) only recently, and with that hurdle cleared, the arrears will soon be paid.

Mritunjay Kumar, general secretary of the Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA), expressed his gratitude, confirming that employees had been assured the arrears will be disbursed before March 31.

In a further boost, the central government has increased PU’s annual grant. This year’s grant has been raised to ₹366 crore, with projections for next year’s grant set at ₹388 crore. Additionally, PU has secured ₹10.5 crore under the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) grant for higher education research.

Officials are still reviewing the Punjab state budget to determine if the university’s grant has been increased further. The state has approved ₹1,650 crore for all universities and colleges, including PU, and university officials will verify the allocation for PU.