A section of contractual teachers in government-run schools in West Bengal raised slogans over their demand for a salary hike in front of state education minister Partha Chatterjee on Sunday when he was addressing their rally. Demanding parity in pay with regular teachers in schools, they alleged that the state government has not responded to their requests.
The agitating para teachers also said they want the TMC dispensation to resolve the issue at the earliest. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had recently announced a three per cent annual pay hike for para teachers in the state budget.
The agitators, however, claimed that it is too little and amounts to a few hundred rupees only. "We want the government to take a decision on our demand and ensure that we get a respectable salary," said a leader of the agitating contractual teachers.
The education department had increased the salary of para teachers at the primary level from Rs 5,954 to Rs 10,000 a month and for those at the higher secondary level from Rs 8,500 to Rs 13,000. However, the contractual teachers have been holding a sit-in in Kolkata for more than 70 days to press for immediate wage revision.
Over 50 women members of "Sikshak Oikyo Mukto Manch", an organisation of para teachers, had on January 27 staged a demonstration outside the state assembly gates where prohibitory orders were in vogue. With state elections round the corner, it has snowballed into a major political issue with the opposition BJP and Left Front accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of turning a blind eye to the agitation of the para teachers.
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