logo
Teachers protest over pension, promotions and pay parity

Teachers protest over pension, promotions and pay parity

Time of India17-07-2025
Trichy: Members of the Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations and Government Employees Organisation held a protest in front of the Trichy district collector's office on Thursday, urging the state govt to address a 10-point charter of demands.
The key demand was the immediate implementation of the old pension scheme (OPS). Protesters criticized the state-appointed three-member committee formed to study the reintroduction of OPS, alleging that the panel had failed to function effectively. They urged the govt not to extend the committee's term unnecessarily. Other demands included restoration of pay parity for secondary teachers withdrawn by the Centre, scrapping of GO 243 that prevents teacher promotions, resolution of pay discrepancies, filling of teaching vacancies, and cancellation of the rule mandating immediate release of retiring teachers—arguing it affects student learning mid-academic year.
District secretary of the organisation, Neelakandan, who spoke demanded that the merit-based promotion case pending in Supreme Court be expedited. Concerns were also raised about the use of P-shaped classrooms, which they said were deemed unfit by medical professionals. The protesters warned that a massive blockade would be staged at Fort St George in Chennai in August if the demands were not met.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Sale of spurious seeds to be non-bailable offence in Punjab
Sale of spurious seeds to be non-bailable offence in Punjab

Time of India

time42 minutes ago

  • Time of India

Sale of spurious seeds to be non-bailable offence in Punjab

Chandigarh: The Punjab cabinet on Friday approved the introduction of The Seeds ( Punjab Amendment) Bill 2025, which will make the sale of spurious seeds a non-bailable offence. Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the cabinet gave its consent to introduce The Seeds (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2025 to ensure the supply of high-quality seeds to farmers of Punjab. There had been no amendment in Section 19 of the Seeds Act 1966 since its inception, due to which the fines and penalties had no deterrence. According to the proposed provisions, the first offence by a company will invite punishment of one to two years and a fine of Rs 5 to 10 lakh, whereas punishment of two to three years and a fine of Rs 10 to 50 lakh will be imposed for repeated offences. Similarly, if a dealer or an individual is at fault, it will invite punishment of six months to one year and a fine of Rs 1 to 5 lakh for the first offence, and a term of one to two years and a fine of Rs 5 to 10 lakh for repeated offences. Previously, such an offence was punishable by a fine of Rs 500 for the first offence, with subsequent violations carrying a fine of Rs 1,000 and imprisonment for up to six months. The cabinet gave the nod to enact a Bill to amend the Seeds Act and insert Section 19A for contravention of Section 7 of the Seeds Act (Regulation of sales of seeds of notified kinds or varieties), enhancing the fine and penalty, making it cognisable and non-bailable. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Japanese AI invention allows you to speak 68 languages instantly. The idea? Genius. Enence 2.0 Undo by Taboola by Taboola "It was a long-pending demand of farmers in the state who suffered losses due to substandard seeds. Both the Centre and the state are authorised to bring in such a legislation," said Cheema. Nod to OTS for industrialists The cabinet also gave nod for introducing a one-time settlement scheme (OTS) for the settlement of interest-free loans for seed margin money. For this, the Punjab State Aid to Industries Act, 1935, and the integrated rural development program (IRDP) will be amended. Cheema said that the Act was not amended since 1935. "The cabinet has decided to waive Rs 97.60 crore interest on seed money of small amounts of Rs 2,000 or Rs 5,000 given since 1935. It used to be a considerable amount at that time. The seed money used to be given without any collateral security. The state govt will now recover Rs 11.54 crore from the 1,054 beneficiaries identified so far. Mechanism to provide land parcels The cabinet also gave concurrence for evolving a mechanism to provide land parcels (on sale or lease basis) for promoting industrial investment in the state. The move is aimed at giving impetus to investment in the state. Till now, there was a lack of a formalised, time-bound mechanism for identifying and provisioning land parcels for investors seeking land. Upper age for group D recruitment enhanced In a relief to the aspirants of the group D posts, the cabinet also gave approval to amend rules 5 (b) and 5 (d) of the Punjab State (Group D) Service Rules, 1963, thereby enhancing the upper age limit from the existing 35 years to 37 years. The age limit for appointment in Group 'D' services in Punjab was 16 to 35 years, while for Group A, B, and C posts, as per PCS Rules 1994, it was 18 to 37 years. For uniformity, the Punjab State Group-D Service Rules Rule 5(b) has been amended to keep the date on age of appointment between 18 to 37 years. Educational qualification under Rule 5(d) has been modified from 'Middle' to 'Matriculation'. Bids for retendering The cabinet also gave ex post facto approval of relaxation in the time frame to invite bids in the re-tender floated for the purchase of 46,000 black polythene covers for the Rabi marketing season (RMS) 2025-26. For ensuring safe storage, maintenance, and preservation of wheat worth Rs 30,000 crores during Rabi Marketing Season 2025-26, ex-post facto approval is sought for relaxing the period for procurement of the covers. It was necessitated to ensure fumigation before the onset of monsoons and to safeguard open stocks from the vagaries of nature. Punjab District Mineral Foundation Rules The cabinet gave approval to revise Punjab District Mineral Foundation (DMF) rules as per revised GOI guidelines under Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY), 2024. The revisions will ensure transparency in the implementation of projects, powers, duties, and responsibilities such as five-year perspective planning, high-priority sectors for utilisation of DMF funds, and restriction on fund transfer from DMF. Advisory managing committee of temples The cabinet gave its consent for amendments in the advisory managing committee of Kali Devi, Raj Rajeshwari Temple, Patiala, authorising the CM to nominate the chairman and members of the advisory managing committee. Likewise, the go-ahead was given for changes in the financial powers of the chairman, secretary, members, and management committee. Punjab Value Added Tax Rules The cabinet also gave its concurrence for amendment in the Punjab Value Added Tax Rules, 2005, stipulating that the chairman and other members of the Punjab VAT tribunal will be entitled to HRA and DA at such rates which are applicable to officers of Punjab. Hassle-free transportation of food grains The cabinet also gave nod to "The Punjab Food Grains Transportation Policy 2025" and 'The Punjab Labour & Cartage Policy, 2025" for hassle-free transportation of food grains in the state. The state procurement agencies and the FCI procure food grains every season. As per the policy during the year 2025, food grain transportation works will be allotted through a competitive and transparent online tender system. MSID:: 122907893 413 | MSID:: 122907893 413 |

American-born babies are American: Judge halts Trump birthright citizenship order
American-born babies are American: Judge halts Trump birthright citizenship order

India Today

time43 minutes ago

  • India Today

American-born babies are American: Judge halts Trump birthright citizenship order

A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration's attempt to end birthright citizenship for children born in the US to undocumented or temporary immigrant parents, calling the move unconstitutional and legally ruling by US District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston marks the third federal court to stop the executive order in its tracks since the Supreme Court last month narrowed the authority of lower courts to issue nationwide Sorokin ruled that an exception applied in this case, where more than a dozen states demonstrated real financial harm tied to the order. 'A patchwork approach to the birthright order would not protect the states,' Sorokin wrote, noting the high mobility of residents between states and slamming the administration's failure to explain how a more limited injunction would function.'They have never addressed what renders a proposal feasible or workable The defendants' position in this regard defies both law and logic.'The decision maintains a nationwide injunction that preserves birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, pending further review by the courts. Sorokin added that his ruling is not the final word on the issue, but emphasized the constitutional implications of the executive action.'The President cannot change that legal rule with the stroke of a pen,' Sorokin said. 'Trump and his administration are entitled to pursue their interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment but for purposes of this lawsuit at this juncture, the Executive Order is unconstitutional.'The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of states led by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who hailed the ruling as a critical defence of constitutional norms.'American-born babies are American, just as they have been at every other time in our Nation's history,' Platkin said in a statement. 'I'm thrilled the district court again barred President Trump's flagrantly unconstitutional birthright citizenship order from taking effect anywhere.'Government lawyers had argued that the injunction should be limited in scope to states' financial interests. Still, Sorokin rejected the idea, saying the administration failed to offer any coherent legal or administrative plan for how such limits would is the third time the executive order has been blocked. Earlier this month, a federal judge in New Hampshire prohibited the rule in a class-action lawsuit. That decision went into effect after no appeal was filed. On Wednesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco also ruled against the order, upholding a nationwide injunction.A fourth ruling may be on the way. A Maryland judge said she would issue a similar decision if the appeals court agrees. - EndsWith inputs from Associated Press

No FIR yet by Parbhani cops in Santosh Suryawanshi custodial death case despite high court directive
No FIR yet by Parbhani cops in Santosh Suryawanshi custodial death case despite high court directive

Time of India

timean hour ago

  • Time of India

No FIR yet by Parbhani cops in Santosh Suryawanshi custodial death case despite high court directive

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Parbhani police have not yet registered an FIR in the Somnath Suryawanshi custodial death case more than three weeks after the Bombay high court's Aurangabad bench issued a directive to this effect. State govt on July 10 moved the Supreme Court against the high court bench's order of July 4 but the apex court has not yet taken cognisance of the appeal. There is no stay on the HC order that required the Parbhani police to register the FIR within a week (by July 11). The state's application to HC seeking an extension to implement its directive, is pending. "State govt's appeal was listed for a hearing today (Friday) before the SC bench but was adjourned to July 30," Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Maharashtra's chief standing counsel in the Supreme Court, told TOI. He preferred not to get into the specifics of the matter, explaining that the same was sub judice. On Friday, TOI made repeated calls and also sent text messages to Parbhani superintendent of police Ravindra Singh Pardeshi seeking his response on the matter. However, there was no response till the time of going to press. Lawyer Milind Sandanshiv, who represented Somnath's mother and petitioner Vijayabai in the high court, told TOI, "The Parbhani police should have registered the FIR. They have failed to take cognisance of the HC order as well as the reminder applications we have made to them to register the FIR. We will take a call on the next step at an appropriate time." On Dec 11, 2024, protests and a riot broke out in Parbhani over reports of an alleged desecration of a replica of the Indian Constitution. Somnath (35), a law student residing with his family in Pune and pursuing his studies at a college in Parbhani, was among the people arrested by the police in connection with the rioting case. After his initial custody remand, he was sent to jail in magisterial custody but succumbed on Dec 15, 2024, to injuries sustained in alleged police brutalities. His mother, Vijayabai, filed a petition in the HC seeking registration of an FIR against the policemen responsible for the alleged brutality. On July 4, the high court, while observing in an interim order that there was "prima facie material" indicating "custodial brutality and violation of constitutional rights, had directed the FIR to be registered at Mondha police station in Parbhani district within a week (by July 11). The FIR was to be based on a complaint application of Dec 18, 2024, by Vijayabai.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store