After doctors and nurses, now north corp teachers threaten strike for wage dues

After doctors and nurses of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation hospitals, the primary school teachers of the north civic body have now threatened to launch an

After doctors and nurses of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation hospitals, the primary school teachers of the north civic body have now threatened to launch an indefinite sit-in protest outside the municipality’s headquarters at Civic Centre from November 11 if their pending salaries are not paid.

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There are nearly 9000 teachers at 714 primary schools of the north corporation who have not been paid salaries for the last 3-4 months. In four zones of the north corporation, teachers were paid salaries till July 2020 on Friday while in two zones they were paid salaries only till June 2020. These teachers are demanding that all their pending wage dues till October 2020 be cleared before Diwali. If not, the teachers have said that they should for now at least be paid two months salary along with a Diwali bonus.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had on Friday also written a letter to the mayor of north corporation demanding immediate payment of salaries of teachers.

Kuldeep Khatri, convener of Joint Council of MCD Teachers’ Union, said that teachers have not been given their wages for 3-4 months. Out of 9,000 teachers, he claimed, there are nearly 3000 who have not been paid since June this year. The remaining 6,000 received their salaries for July only on Friday night.

“Instead of being given peanuts in the form of one month’s salary selectively, we want all our pending salaries to be cleared. We want the civic body to give us at least two months of salary and Diwali bonus, which has been due for the last four years. If these demands are not met till Tuesday, then from November 11 (Wednesday) we will go on an indefinite strike outside the civic centre. We will observe a ‘Black Diwali’ there this year,” Khatri said.

Khatri also said that a memorandum had been submitted to Union home minister Amit Shah along with officials of the civic authority.

The teachers strike may impact work related to online teaching of primary students as well as the process of enrolment and admission of new students for the new academic session, municipal officials feared.

Ramniwas Solanki, general secretary of Municipal Corporation Teachers Association said that due to non-payment of salaries, the north civic body teachers are not able to take care of their families and are unable to pay loans. “Diwali is round the corner, but north corporation teachers do not have money to celebrate the festival. We have made several communications with the civic authorities but to no avail. We want our pending salaries to be cleared before Diwali,” Solanki said.

This is not the first time that the teachers have threatened to go on an indefinite strike on the issue of non-payment of salaries in the cash-strapped north civic body.

In June this year, teachers of north corporation schools had staged a symbolic strike on pending salary issues. But they called off their strike after the civic body paid them a month’s salary at the court’s intervention. Similarly doctors at north corporation hospitals had last month called off their strike after the civic body paid their dues till September 2020. However, the salaries of paramedic and nursing staff were paid till June 2020 and July 2020 respectively, which irked the health workers and they went on a strike on November 2, which was finally called off on November 6 after their salaries till September 2020 was released by the civic body.

Jai Prakash, mayor of North Delhi Municipal Corporation, said that strike is not the solution and the employees should understand that the civic body is undergoing financial crisis but still efforts are being made to release their salaries.

“I had a meeting with the delegation of corporation employees and I have appealed them to withdraw their proposed strike. Salaries of July has been credited and we are making efforts to give the remaining salary of teachers before Diwali,” he said.