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Pondy hit by rash of protests

Special Correspondent

Apart from Electricity, PWD staff, schoolteachers also plan strike

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

PROTEST: PWD engineering staff stage a dharna in Pondicherry on Tuesday.

Pondicherry: A rash of protests has broken out in Pondicherry, with Government staff on dharnas, fasts and strikes to press for their demands.

With Chief Minister N Rangasamy having a reputation of never saying `no' to most of the demands raised by the staff, employees are fully confident that he will concede their demands sooner than later.

The engineering staffs in the Electricity and Public Works Departments have resorted to dharnas and indefinite strikes seeking enhanced wages. They are taking inspiration from the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission, whose report was made effective from January 1, 1996.

Employees' fear

With the Sixth Pay Commission now on the anvil, the employees fear that if they did not have their grievances settled now they would be in distress when the next Pay Commission was formed, as the present anomalies in the pay structure would recur.

Even as the employees were involved in protests, Lt Governor M.M. Lakhera has been shifted to Mizoram. It will therefore be necessary for these associations and officials to restart talks with the incoming Lt Governor Mukut Mithi, who will assume office on Wednesday.

The lecturers (Teachers in Government Higher Secondary Schools) have also come out with a list of demands, which they say do not involve any monetary expenditure for the Government but will only confer status on them.

They want fixing of the teacher-student ratio at l: 40 against the present practice of dumping more than 60 students in a classroom. They are also upset over the reported observation of the Education Minister M O H F Shah Jahan that teachers from private schools would be invited as guest lecturers to take classes in Government schools.

This was demoralising the government schoolteachers. After holding dharnas and gate meetings between July 19 and 27, the teachers will go on indefinite strike on August 7. They want among other things improvement in their service conditions.

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