01/02/2023
Teaching and non-teaching staff of 7 colleges start week-long strike over Central Services Rules in Chandigarh
Demanding the inclusion of their services under the Central Services Rules, the teaching and non-teaching staff of all the seven private and government-aided colleges affiliated to the Panjab University (PU) in Chandigarh Wednesday went on strike for a week.
The staff members from different colleges gathered under the banner of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) and are staging a sit-in protest from 10 am to 2 pm in Sector 10’s DAV College. They will stage the protest until February 8, said a JAC official.
There are around 730 teaching and 400 non-teaching staff members in these colleges, which have around 50,000 students.
The teaching faculty and non-teaching staff have been demanding the inclusion of their services under the Central Services Rules, which was announced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Chandigarh on March 29 last year.
“The UT administration brought the teaching and non-teaching staff under the Central Services Rules but left the private and government-aided colleges in December 2022. We were promised to be included by January 15 but nothing happened. In a meeting, there was no response from the UT administration,” Sumit Goklaney, faculty member, DAV College, said.
Diwakar Tiwari, official bearer, Joint Action Committee, said the four-hour-long dharna will be held in all these colleges in the next seven days. “We decided to strike as there was no positive outcome on our demands from the side of UT administration in the recently held meeting. The faculty members will protest at MCM DAV College, Sector 36, on Thursday followed by a dharna at SGGSC, Sector 26, on Friday,” Tiwari added.