Punjab college teachers plan protests over unpaid salary arrears
The Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union will hold rallies to demand regular grants and pending dues for private aided colleges.
Teachers at private aided colleges in Punjab are preparing to intensify agitations across the state over unpaid salary arrears and irregular grants, according to The Tribune.
The Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU) has announced a series of protests to press the state government to honour its commitments to the teaching fraternity.
Dr BB Yadav, general secretary of the PCCTU and a faculty member at DAV College, Hathi Gate, Amritsar, said that despite the 7th Pay Commission implementation, several issues remain unresolved.
These issues include the non-payment of arrears from January 2016 to January 2022 and delays in releasing salary grants. Yadav said that while the government issued a letter to release arrears in instalments, the teachers have not yet received the money.
The union alleged that the government is prioritising spending on media advertisements, welfare programmes, pilgrimage initiatives, and the Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana instead of paying teachers' dues. The PCCTU stated that around 136 teachers across 23 private aided colleges are affected.
The planned agitation includes mobilisation meetings on November 2 and 4, district-level rallies on November 16, and university-level rallies. The protests will culminate in a mass casual leave protest on December 2.