Talks between Delhi’s north corporation, teachers not able to end deadlock over wages

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday engaged in political blame game over pending salaries even as a first round of talks between civic teachers in North Delhi Municipal Corporation schools and civic administration for ending their strike ended in a deadlock.

Over 7,000 teachers of municipal schools stopped teaching online classes from Tuesday over the salary delay.

Also Read | Delhi: Over 7,000 North MCD teachers stop online classes to protest salary delay

Kuldeep Singh Khatri, the president of Shikshak Nyay Manch – an umbrella body of teachers’ association of all municipal corporations – said that North MCD additional commissioner Sunil Bhadu and director (education) Ranjeet Singh had called the meeting on Wednesday, with the teachers’ representatives. “They were offering us one month’s salary, which was turned down unanimously. We are not ready to call off our strike, unless all the pending dues of the teachers are cleared within seven days. On December 8, the teachers will demonstrate outside the BJP state headquarters and on the next day, we’ll lock all the municipal schools,” he said.

When contacted, Alok Verma, the chairman of the education committee in the North MCD, also said that the teachers were “given the best possible offer”. “What else can we do if the Delhi government does not release funds? I respect the feelings of the teachers, but they must not forget our resources. We are chalking out some plans that should ensure they get their salaries regularly from January,” he said.

Echoing similar views, North MCD additional commissioner Sunil Bhadu said, “Our talks did not yield results. We are looking at what else can be done now.”

Meanwhile, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday said that the BJP-ruled municipal bodies are deliberately playing with the lives of their employees. “Did the North MCD ever try to get the legitimate funds of ₹488 per person in a year, which is being given to all municipal bodies from the Central government? Even the valuable properties of the MCDs are being sold at meagre prices. The BJP-ruled civic bodies are intentionally creating a situation where their teachers, doctors and other employees are forced to go on strike. These agitations give them the opportunity to put the blame on the AAP-ruled Delhi government, so that they can get more funds by hook and crook,” he said.

Responding to Bharadwaj’s charge, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor accused the Delhi government of “playing with the sentiments of municipal employees”. “For the last seven years, the Delhi government has been withholding increased amounts of municipal funds, recommended by the third, fourth and fifth Delhi Finance Commission. As far as AAP leader’s statement that North MCD has sold properties and yet not paid salaries of employees is concerned, it’s totally misleading as all the municipal proposals to sell properties are still on paper. No possession has been handed over and no payments have come as yet,” he said.