CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami should convene talks with the protesting teachers to settle their issues amicably, said DMK president M K Stalin. In a release on Wednesday, Stalin condemned the AIADMK government for being a mute spectator to the nearly 6,000 secondary grade teachers who have been staging protests for ‘equal pay for equal work’.
Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, Dharmapuri MP and PMK youth wing president, also urged the Chief Minister to take steps to resolve the issues of the protesting teachers.“They have been observing an indefinite hunger strike since December 24, for various demands, including to rectify the wage differences.
The teachers who joined the service before May 31, 2009 are given `42,000 as monthly salary while those who joined later are given only ` 26,500. It is injustice. The affected teachers have been protesting against it over the last nine years. But, nothing has been done to address their demands,” he said. Anbumani also condemned the government’s efforts to control the protests by using force.