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Panel approves compassionate appointments, PU’s non-teaching staff suspend protest
Another PU panel had previously held up nine cases, following which a new committee was formed and seven cases were cleared on Wednesday
Protesting since December 27, the non-teaching staff of Panjab University (PU) suspended their stir on Wednesday after a newly constituted varsity panel accepted their demands and cleared the cases of compassionate appointments.
In December, a varsity panel, headed by dean university instruction (DUI) VR Sinha, had cleared only a few cases of compassionate appointments and deferred nine.
However, on the demand of the non-teaching staff, the new panel, headed by dean research SK Tomar, cleared seven of these cases on Wednesday.
The development was confirmed by president of the Panjab University Staff (Non-Teaching) Association (PUSA), Honey Thakur, who attended the meeting.
A member of the panel, on condition of anonymity, said, “Seven cases were cleared by the panel during the meeting, while there was some issue with the documentation of two other cases and they will be asked to provide the requisite documents.”
After the panel headed by the DUI had deferred the appointments, non-teaching employees had started a protest on December 27 and also held a protest march on Monday.
According to sources, even the minutes of the meeting, which was held in December, were not documented, following which a new panel was constituted to take up the matter. The DUI was not part of the new committee.
Appreciating varsity’s latest decision, Thakur said, “We have postponed the protest for now and will await the written approval for the next three days.”
Teachers to hold protest in Morinda today
University and college teachers will hold a protest rally in Morinda on Thursday to press for their demand for higher pay scales. Teachers from Chandigarh and Punjab had started the indefinite strike on December 1 over Punjab government’s delay in implementing the revised UGC pay scales as per the Seventh Pay Commission. The protest will be organised under the banner of the Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations (PFUCTO).
Meanwhile, members of the Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) continued their protest on the varsity campus on Wednesday, over their pending demands. PUTA president Mritunjay Kumar, who appealed to teachers to take part in the protest rally in Morinda, said, “It is difficult to understand the resistance shown by the Punjab government in meeting the teachers’ demands.”
