Punjab Teachers' Pay Hike : PFUCTO threatens boycott of ongoing university exams

Disappointed with the response of the Punjab Govt. on the issue of the implementation of UGC pay scales on the basis Minisetry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) notification dated Dec 31, 2008, Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers Organizations (PFUCTO) has given a notice to the Govt. that they will boycott ongoing university examinations for 2 days after giving a short notice.

Dr. Jagwant Singh, General Secretary, PFUCTO said that he has written to the Punjab Govt. 4 times during last 5 weeks on the subject, which has failed to respond. This has forced them to resort to protest which will cause avoidable inconvenience to thousands of students and delay the next academic session. Dr. Jagwant Singh said that PFUCTO is of the view that model code of conduct does not apply in the case of UGC pay scales.

Firstly, higher education is on the ‘Concurrent List’ of the Constitution of India, therefore notification of Govt. of India has settled the issue on Dec 31, 2008. Secondly, the pay revision is under the Central Pay Commission under which all the relevant notifications have already been issued and therefore, it is only a case of completion of process. Dr. Raunki Ram, Vice-President PFUCTO said that the response of the Govt. left them groping in the dark and has forced them to take the decision. He said that Govt. should implement the decision taken on Feb 13, 2009 to send a message to the employees of the state that it is serious to implement the pay scales, which it is otherwise bound to implement sooner or later. It is noteworthy that Punjab CM, S. Parkash Singh Badal in a meeting with PFUCTO on Feb 13, 2009 had decided to implement the pay scales. However, nothing happened thereafter.

Source : PunjabNewsline.com