Leaflet, 9.2.2009

Revised Pay Scales: further challenges ahead

At the DUTA GBM held on 5 February a resolution was adopted which listed ten demands and authorised the DUTA office bearers to take up these demands with the MHRD and the UGC urgently. It is unfortunate that the DUTA President cut short the meeting without allowing any real discussion. He did not even allow the proposed amendments to be read out. As can be seen, these amendments list important additional demands and a demonstration at the MHRD to press for them. As can also be seen, several of these demands are crucial for all sections of the teaching community.

In fact, the DUTA President used his position to mislead the house on a number of issues only to escape from earnestly pursuing demands arising from “negative features” of the MHRD Notification.

The DUTA President mischievously campaigned that the proposal to seek revision in the Notification meant denial of revised pay and arrears to teachers. The DUTA resolution in fact seeks revision in the Notification in order to remove its “negative features”. That surely is not going to deny teachers revised pay.
He lied that the DTF wants downgradation of school teachers’ pay. We are glad that the Sixth CPC recognised the need to upgrade school teachers’ pay scales. This is what the UGC did in 1997 for university and college teachers; the NDA government turned it down. This time the Government accepted upgradation for school teachers but not for us. Grade I PGT teachers and Lecturers were in the same pre-revised scale. After revision Grade I PGT teachers start at 6600 GP and Assistant Professors at 6000 AGP.
He is also lying when he claims the Government has generously given one increment during upward movement from 6000 AGP to 7000 AGP and from 7000 AGP to 8000 AGP. This increment is a provision of the Sixth CPC and is applicable to all employees including teachers.
He claims that teachers have got a better deal than the IAS since the IAS enter at 5400 GP and teachers at 6000 AGP. He hides the fact that an IAS gets two additional compounded increments during the first two upward movements, so that each time, the basic salary jumps much beyond the stipulated level of the GP. Moreover, all IAS move at least to 10000 GP in 16 years, getting one increment plus 10000 jump with this fourth upward movement. College teachers, however, have been denied 10000 AGP (professor’s grade).
The DUTA President campaigned that the DTF is jeopardising our pay to get 100% grants for states to implement pay revision. 100% grant is not antithetical to the demands for better pay. Sadly, the DTF has not even raised this demand. The AIFUCTO has raised this demand, but it has also raised other demands, similar to those of the DUTA, for removing negative features of the MHRD notification. It has already held action programmes and resolved to hold more. (See AIFUCTO-Reply-to-MHRD-Jan09) The DUTA President has chosen instead to sabotage protest against the negative features.

Why did the DUTA President chose to lie? Why did he not allow Amar Deo Sharma to even present the amendments though he invited him to speak as the first requisitionist and mover of the amendments? Why did he provoke sections of the young teachers that led to disruption of the meeting? We believe that this was part of his plan because he wanted to stop any form of effective protest, to sabotage any, even token, action programme.

Criticising negative aspects of the MHRD notification and taking up demands for relevant changes is the task of any self-respecting teachers’ association. This was done during all previous pay revisions and whatever improvements we achieved were the result of our collective struggles to press for the demands. The DTF appeals to the DUTA President to earnestly pursue the resolution of the DUTA General Body and also take up the other just demands raised in the proposed amendments. Unity is achieved by taking up demands relating to all sections of teachers and by doing this in action. The DTF calls upon teachers to be ready for action if the Government refuses to consider our demands and if the UGC imposes further negative conditions.