Himachal Pradesh University Staff Protest Over Salary Delays
SHIMLA: IN a joint protest organized by the Himachal Pradesh University Teachers Welfare Association (HPUTWA) and Non-Teaching Staff Association, employees staged a demonstration outside the Vice Chancellor’s office due to delayed salary payments.
Teachers boycotted their classes in solidarity with the protest. The staff raised their voices against the Education Secretary and the Director of Higher Education, accusing them of being insensitive towards the issue.
Dr. Nitin Vyas, the President of the Teachers Welfare Association, criticized the Education Secretary for holding up the salary file for ten days without signing it.
"The file was left unattended on the Secretary's desk for 10 days, and this delay is unacceptable.
There must be an investigation into why the file wasn’t moved," Dr. Vyas said, highlighting the unnecessary bureaucratic hold-up.
The protesters emphasized that the university's monthly grant, which is now being issued monthly instead of quarterly, should have ensured smooth operations, as the state government is responsible for the salaries of the employees of a state university like HP University.
They also raised concerns about the absence of a Registrar at the university, which has led to a backlog of files and slowed down the university’s operations.
Three hours of intense protests took place outside the Vice Chancellor's office, with staff alleging a conspiracy to malign the university, involving certain administrative officers.
Later, the staff met with the Vice Chancellor, where it was discussed that measures would be taken to ensure timely salary disbursements over the next three days.
Dr. Ankush, the General Secretary of the Teachers Welfare Association, also expressed his frustration.
“The delay in salary payments, coupled with issues like the absence of CAS (Career Advancement Scheme) for teachers and the RPC (Revised Pay Commission) for non-teaching staff, is causing immense distress.
Employees have not received their 2016 scale arrears or full DA payments, and this has led to growing resentment towards the government.”
Among the prominent figures present at the protest were Dr. Nitin Vyas, Dr. Ankush, Dr. Anjali, Dr. Ram, Dr. Gaurav, Dr. Anil, Dr. Joginder Saklani, Dr. Shiv Dogra, Dr. Shashikant, and many others from both the teaching and non-teaching staff, including Rajesh, Sunil, Rajkumari, Rana and Dharm Pal.
The protest ended with an assurance from the Vice Chancellor that steps would be taken to prevent any further delays in salary payments and address other concerns raised by the staff.
