Teachers' unions call for protest at Chittoor DEO office tomorrow
Leaders highlighted that restructuring was carried out without considering ground realities, leading to surplus teacher posts and conversion of many schools into single-teacher institutions. The relocation of classes 3, 4, and 5 to model schools has forced young students to travel long distances, they noted.
The committee also condemned the government's unilateral approach to transfer rules and demanded promotions for SGTs to fill headmaster posts in model schools. They insisted on revising student-teacher ratios in high schools and correcting irregularities in primary teacher postings.
The JAC urged all teachers to make the May 21 protest a success. Several union leaders and members participated in the meeting.
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Indian Express
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- Indian Express
‘AAP failed Bhagat Singh, his ideals': Vets protest for pay parity in Khatkar Kalan
Veterinary doctors from Punjab's Animal Husbandry Department staged a protest demanding restoration of pay parity with medical officers and implementation of the Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP) scheme at the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, Khatkar Kalan, on Monday. Under the banner of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Vets for Pay Parity, protest leaders said veterinarians and medical officers had received equal pay for 42 years — from 1978 to 2020. However, in January 2021 the then-Congress government slashed the starting salary of vets from ₹56,100 to ₹47,600 — contradicting court rulings. The ruling was made by Punjab and Haryana High Court in a civil writ petition filed by Dr Sukhdev Singh and others against the state of Punjab. JAC convener Dr Gurcharan Singh said this pay cut was a betrayal. The AAP government failed to reverse an unjust decision taken over four years ago by former Finance minister Manpreet Badal, he said. 'Will they follow Badal's ideology or Bhagat Singh's?' On DACP, Dr Singh said that under the scheme the assured career progression takes place after four, nine and 14 years of service. JAC media advisor Dr Gurinder Singh Walia noted that while pay commissions normally maintain or raise pay scales for comparable categories, 'this is the first time in history that a category's salary has been reduced by a mere finance department letter without any rationale'. He urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to address the issue on priority to undo the injustice. The co-conveners, Dr Puneet Malhotra and Dr Abdul Majid said: 'Punjab is the only state where this disparity has existed since 2021.' According to them veterinarians and medical officers receive the same pay and benefits in Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Haryana, and across the Central government, the Indian Army, and the BSF. The convenors alleged that the government has issued no notification to restore parity despite multiple meetings and assurances. Committee coordinator Dr Tejinder Singh stressed that veterinarians do more than just desk work to strengthen the rural economy. They travel to remote villages to treat and vaccinate animals, control diseases, and improve milk production, he said. He warned that continued inaction would escalate the protest and that the government would be responsible for any negative impact on animal health and farmers' incomes. A joint memorandum was also sent to the Punjab government. The protest ended with JAC leaders paying floral tributes to Bhagat Singh's statue. Anti-government were raised as banners and placards condemned the policies of the previous and current regimes. Retired veterinary doctors also joined the march in solidarity.
The Hindu
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Rewriting the rules of school in Andhra Pradesh
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Hindustan Times
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Karnataka HC criticises transport strike; protest suspended till August 7
With public transport services disrupted across Karnataka on Tuesday, the high court issued a stern warning to protesting transport employees, criticising the continuation of their agitation despite a court directive and the invocation of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). The court's strong response prompted the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) Staff and Workers' Federation to suspend the strike until Thursday, when the matter is scheduled to be heard again. Police personnel at a bus depot as Karnataka transport workers launched an indefinite strike in Bengaluru on Tuesday. (PTI) A division bench of chief justice Vibhu Bakhru and justice CM Joshi, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), expressed serious displeasure over the trade unions' defiance of its interim order. The judges made it clear that the court would not tolerate ongoing disruption and warned of potential contempt proceedings if the strike continued. 'If you have grievances, resolve them through dialogue with the government. You cannot inconvenience the public. Continuing the strike even after ESMA has been invoked is illegal,' the bench observed during the hearing. The PIL, filed by Sunil J and four others and represented by advocate Deeksha N Amrutesh, sought the court's intervention to prevent hardship to commuters. The court had earlier instructed the unions to postpone the proposed indefinite strike, initially planned to begin on Tuesday. However, the strike still went ahead, prompting the court to extend its interim stay on the agitation for two more days and demand an affidavit confirming the strike's suspension. The ongoing agitation was driven by employee demands for a 25% hike on a base pay of ₹1,124, along with 38 months' worth of arrears, amounting to an estimated ₹1,800 crore. While chief minister Siddaramaiah offered to release arrears for 14 months and called upon the unions to end the strike, the unions rejected the proposal, insisting they deserved full payment for all 38 months. The court on Tuesday orally cautioned that leaders of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), which represents employees from all four state-run transport corporations — KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC and KKRTC — could face arrest under ESMA provisions if the strike resumed. Notices were also issued to the unions, and the court reiterated that the public must not be held hostage by such protests. 'Has the strike been suspended today? The strike is illegal. Police have already arrested anybody who is supporting the strike? Whatever you (trade unions) do (do it) in accordance with the law. As of now, the strike is illegal. If you have issues, you can negotiate with the government. You can't hold the public for ransom, but that is exactly what the unions are doing. The public can't be inconvenienced in this manner,' the court remarked. Responding to the court's observations, JAC's legal counsel assured that the strike would not continue on Wednesday and that workers would resume duties. Shortly after the hearing, KSRTC Staff and Workers' Federation president HV Anantha Subbarao addressed a press conference to announce the suspension of the agitation. 'After receiving clear directions from the Hon'ble Court, we have withdrawn the strike and appealed to all workers to resume duty,' he said. Subbarao also urged management not to punish employees who had participated in the protest. 'We urge the management not to resort to any form of victimisation,' he added. On the ground, public transport in Karnataka remained patchy on Tuesday. In Bengaluru, the state government claimed that BMTC services were operational, but ridership in districts was reportedly at 50%. In Bengaluru Shivajinagar Bus Stand showed limited services, and there was heavy commuter rush at Majestic Metro Station due to increased reliance on the Namma Metro. Areas in Kalyana Karnataka and North-West Karnataka bore the brunt of the strike.
