CHENNAI: Around 200 secondary grade teachers staged a hunger strike at Rajarathinam Stadium on Saturday, demanding equal pay for equal work. The protest, organised by the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers’ Association (SSTA), warned if the demand is not fulfilled, they would stage a massive protest in September to fill up the prisons.
Teachers across the state participated in the protest and similar demonstration was held at all district headquarters. They highlighted a long-standing pay disparity based on their date of appointment. For those appointed before June 1, 2009, the basic pay was fixed at Rs 8,370, while those appointed on or after the date had basic pay of only Rs 5,200. With successive pay commission revisions, this gap has widened to over Rs 30,000, SSTA members said.
“I scored over 1,100 marks in Class 12 and cleared all the required exams to become a teacher. Yet, after 13 years of service, I earn only around Rs 50,000 a month, while those appointed before 2009 for the same job take home over Rs 80,000. If I had chosen an alternative path like engineering, I would have led a more comfortable life,” said a teacher based from Kancheepuram.
Teachers warned that pay disparity could deter good candidates from aspiring to become teachers. They also reminded the ruling DMK of its election promise to resolve the issue and urged the fulfilment of their demand.