CHENNAI: On the fourth day of the indefinite hunger strike of the secondary grade teachers (SGTs), School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh met a delegation of the agitating teachers at his camp office and tried to persuade them to withdraw their strike, but the protesters remained adamant on their demand.
“We went to meet the minister today but the talks failed. We will continue our hunger strike,” said a member of the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers Association (SSTA). He further said the school education minister told them he needs time to discuss the issue with Chief Minister MK Stalin, as revising salaries of 15,000 secondary grade teachers means the government will incur an additional expenditure of Rs 25 crore per month.
According to SSTA, teachers appointed after June 2009 are facing a pay discrepancy of `3,170 than those appointed on or before May 31, 2009. And after implementation of the seventh pay commission the gap has widened further.
Over 3,000 SGTs have been on a hunger strike at the DPI campus since December 27, and at least 23 of them are undergoing treatment in hospital after their condition deteriorated due to the hunger strike, said the association.
Meanwhile, BJP, on Friday, extended its support to the agitating teachers. A team of BJP party workers headed by VP Duraisamy met the teachers.