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Govt agrees to increase the salary of guest lecturers
About 12,300 teachers in 430 first-grade colleges have been on strike for over a week, which has affected more than 500,000 students in the state
Bengaluru: Chief minister Siddaramaiah has agreed to increase the honorarium of guest lecturers by ₹5,000 to ₹8,000 based on their experience and appealed to them to call off their strike and report to duty.
About 12,300 teachers in 430 first-grade colleges have been on strike for over a week, which has affected more than 500,000 students in the state, with several colleges planning to postpone examinations.
Holding a meeting a meeting with the representatives of the protesting guest lecturers and discussing their demands, the CM said that the government will increase the honorarium by ₹5,000 for those with less than five years of service, ₹6,000 for those with 5 to 10 years of service, ₹7000 for those with 10 to 15 years of service and ₹8,000 \for those with more than 15 years of service experience, a statement from the chief minister’s office said on Sunday.
The chief minister said that even when he was the leader of the opposition, he raised his voice on behalf of the guest lecturers and demanded a salary hike. “Our government has humanitarian concerns about guest lecturers. However, it is not possible to provide job security due to legal complications. Our government has again proposed to increase your salary within the span of two years. We have considered the demands of the guest lecturers very sympathetically,” the statement said quoting Siddaramaiah.
The chief minister agreed on implementing health insurance cover of ₹5 lakh per annum to the guest lecturers. “ ₹5 lakh will be provided to the serving guest lecturers after 60 years of age. One day of paid leave per month to those with more than 15 hours of workload per week and 3 months of paid maternity leave to guest lecturers will be provided,” the statement said.
He also agreed to simplify the counselling process, based on their experience in recruitment, giving weightage, continuing service at the same place where guest lecturers were working, and continuing their service there for the next year as well.
