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Chandigarh admn adopts revised UGC pay scales for college teachers
The move will benefit around 800 college teachers who had been awaiting pay hike as per UGC’s 7th Pay Commission since 2016
In what has come as a great year-end gift for college teachers in the city, the Chandigarh administration has hiked their salaries by adopting the Punjab government notification to implement the University Grants Commission (UGC) 7th Pay Commission.
The order in this regard was issued by UT’s directorate of higher education on Tuesday, giving the teachers two months to exercise the option.
The move will end the long wait of around 800 teachers at city’s 14 colleges, both government and private, due to the delay in the implementation of the revised UGC pay scales. Besides regular teachers, the pay revision will also benefit guest faculty.
It was in September that the Punjab government had implemented the revised UGC pay scales as per the 7th Pay Commission for teachers and equivalent cadres in universities and government colleges in the state. But teachers at Chandigarh colleges had remained deprived of the benefit of pay hike. Teachers of some colleges had even held several protests to push for their demand.
Order to take effect retrospectively from Oct
The order issued by UT’s directorate of higher education stated that the switch to revised pay from January 1, 2016, as per the Punjab government’s September notification, will take effect retrospectively from October 2022.
The decision to pay the arrears from 2016 to September 30, 2022, on account of pay revision will be taken separately in due course of time, the order added.
“The ministry of home affairs, government of India, through its notification issued on March 29, has made applicable the pay scales (UGC) from April 1, 2022. Accordingly, in future as and when the pay scales on UGC pattern are notified, the same will be made applicable to the teachers and equivalent cadres in government colleges of UT Chandigarh by virtue of this notification and will have no concern with the government of Punjab,” it further said.
Teachers hail decision
Welcoming UT’s decision, the Chandigarh Aided Colleges Teachers Association (CACTA) said teachers were thankful, as their long wait for revised pay scales since 2016 had ended. President Dr Gurmej and secretary Dr Sutapa Saryal, in a statement, said while they were overwhelmed by the decision, they were also expecting an expedited notification of the central service rules, as applicable to UT employees since April 1, for college teachers.
