Strike paralyses teaching in Punjab, Chandigarh colleges

Chandigarh: With hundreds of teachers in nearly 170 private colleges across Punjab and in Chandigarh going on strike Wednesday, classes were affected in these institutions.

Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers' Union (PCCTU) president Jagwant Singh said that the strike was called by the joint action committee of the Non-government Colleges Management Federation, the Federation of Associations of College Principals, the PCCTU and the Federation of Non-Teaching Employees of Punjab.

Joint rallies were held at Amritsar, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Patiala, Anandpur Sahib, Barnala, Ferozpore and Abohar, he said.

He said the strike was called following the Punjab government's failure to accept its demands, including that on implementation of an already announced pension and gratuity scheme for hundreds of college teachers.

"The Punjab government's policies had created serious problems for colleges and their employees," he said.

The protesters' demands include implementation of pension and gratuity scheme approved by the government Dec 12, 2001, lifting of ban on recruitment, implementation of revised pay-scales on the basis of parity with those working in government colleges, and release of pay scales, he said.

Jagwant Singh said that hundreds of teachers held protest rallies across Punjab and Chandigarh Wednesday. The private colleges get 95 percent grant-in-aid from the government.

The PCCTU had earlier been observing a two-hour strike in all colleges since early November to press its demands.
 

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