CHENNAI: Secondary grade teachers, who had been protesting for the last 37 days demanding pay parity, withdrew their protest on Saturday following an appeal by School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi. The minister urged the teachers to return to work in the interest of students and assured that a decision on their demand for equal pay for equal work would be taken after the submission of the report by a three-member committee constituted to examine the issue.
According to the protesting teachers, the disparity stems from the basic pay fixed at the time of appointment. While those appointed before June 1, 2009, were placed on a basic pay of Rs 8,370, teachers appointed on or after the cut-off date were fixed at Rs 5,200, despite having the same qualifications and performing identical duties. Over the years, this gap has widened to Rs 25,000-30,000 as allowances are linked to the basic pay.
Secondary grade teachers in Tamil Nadu, who teach classes 1 to 5, are among the lowest-paid in the country compared to their counterparts in other states, with a basic pay of just Rs 20,600, the teachers said.
The DMK, in its 2021 Assembly election manifesto, had promised to resolve the pay parity issue after coming to power. Chief Minister MK Stalin, who was then the leader of opposition, had also visited the teachers’ protest site in 2018 and personally assured them that their demand would be fulfilled once the DMK comes to power.
The teachers said they intensified their protest as the tenure of the DMK government is nearing its end. “We were hopeful that the DMK government would solve our issue. Despite several protests over the past five years, this injustice continues,” said a teacher who participated in the protest on Tuesday.
The protest began on December 26 during the half-yearly holidays and continued even after schools reopened on January 5. While more than 20,000 teachers across the state are affected by the pay disparity, over 10,000 had initially participated in the protest. The official figures quoted by the minister stated that more than 5,700 teachers were protesting on Tuesday.
The agitation severely affected primary schools, where schemes such as Ennum Ezhuthum are being implemented to improve students’ learning outcomes. In several schools, teachers were unable to take leave even during emergencies due to staff shortage, sources said. The elementary education department had earlier said that salaries of teachers who failed to report to work due to the protest would be deducted. Members of the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers’ Association (SSTA) said they expect the school education department to revoke the salary deductions once the teachers resume duty.
The three-member committee, comprising school education secretary, finance secretary, and director of elementary education, was constituted early 2023 to examine the issue. However, even after two years, the committee is yet to submit its report. Members of the association said they hope the report will be submitted within the next two weeks and that a favourable decision will be taken before the end of the government’s tenure, failing which they would consider restarting the protest.