Seeking regular pay scales, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan teachers hold protest

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and teachers working under the Centre Sponsored Scheme (CSS) staged a protest and burnt an effigy of the state government at Bharat Nagar Chowk on Sunday.

The teachers also blocked the traffic for around 15 minutes at one of the busiest chowks of the city due to which commuters had to face a lot of trouble.

The teachers were demanding that teachers under SSA and RMSA should be paid salary according to the regular pay scale and pending salaries should be paid to CSS teachers.

Earlier, the teachers conducted a meeting at Bhai Chatar Singh Park and then carried out a protest rally to Bharat Nagar Chowk, where the teachers also raised slogans against the Punjab government. "Though a new notification has been issued regarding the regular the pay scale, the government is not paying according to the notification. No step is being taken by the government in this regard. We are always forced to come on roads," said Manraj Singh, a state committee member, who was heading the protest march.

The union members alleged that the government had not completed its promises and assurances were found false. Manraj Singh also said the teachers, who were appointed under CSS, have not got their salary for the past eight months. They urged the government to cancel the cases put on 59 teachers by police during a protest in Bathinda, Manraj added.

General secretary Amandeep Dadhuhar said they were working on contractual basis, but doing the same work as regular teachers do. He further said the government should bring a policy to regularise them. He said women teachers face inconvenience while getting maternity leaves and the leave period should be extended up to six months.

The union members warned the state government that if it did not fulfil their demands, they would stage a state-level protest rally at Bathinda on December 16.