IIMs to now protest against pay disparity

IIM-A has formed a 3-member committee to highlight the pay commission recommendations. The main grudge is that the percentage increase in salary for IIM faculty has been lesser than that granted to their counterparts in other government agencies. As a result, the premium in the pay scales enjoyed by IITs and IIMs has been considerably reduced after the latest pay revision. The effort by the faculty will be to build a case for making a representation before the Union HRD ministry. The committee’s report will be first circulated and discussed among the faculty members. “We have been following the developments in IITs. We may not follow the IIT and go on mass CL, but since the issue is the same, we may take a cue from the IITs. Our tone, however, may not be as strident,” said a faculty member. “Our insistence will be on a symmetrical treatment with faculty under UGC institutions and other government agencies,” he said. Sources said the IIMs are taking time to react because, unlike IITs, there is no central plank through which the IIMs can jointly register their protest before the ministry. “The IIMs have not been able to react faster as there is a lack of proper mechanism to mobilise and co-ordinate faculty members at various IIMs. We will first discuss the issue and reach a conclusion before approaching the Centre,” a source said. The IITs have also protested on the grounds that the government has offered 40% less remuneration than their demand. According to the Govardhan Mehta committee recommendations pay hike for faculty members of IITs and IIMs, assistant professors have been put in the 3rd pay band, while both associate professors and professors have been kept in the 4th pay band. The graded pay structure has followed the Sixth Pay Commission guidelines. Compared with the old scale where the faculty members of IITs and IIMs were paid more than their counterparts in other institutions, the difference in pay has come down, which is another aspect that the 3-member committee will look into. It may be mentioned here that salary is not the only source of income for the faculty members at the IITs and IIMs. The premier institutions encourage their faculty to take up consultancy job and other activities to generate money for both the institute as well as the faculty. At IIM-A, for instance, the avenues for income include consultancy being offered to international clients, government, corporate, cooperatives and NGOs among others. While the institute keeps 40% of the consultancy fee, the remaining 60% goes to the faculty and the researchers. The IIM-A faculty are also compensated for taking extra classes in MDPs and other special programmes. IIM-A director Samir Barua could not be reached for reaction. Source : Economic Times.