Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, January 12 2009:
Teachers of the government run elementary schools across Manipur staged sit-in protests Monday triggering another round of stand-off between the striking state government employees union and the state government.
Employees of the Manipur government have been on cease-work strike demanding for implementation of the recommendation of the 6th Pay Commission to its employees by the Manipur government.
The strike entered 47 day today even though government has on many occasions said that it has no enough funds to meet the expenditures to be incurred in paying the revised hike pay structure of the 6th Pay Commission.
The teachers of the government elementary schools staged the sit-in protest in front of the offices of the zonal educational offices located at the district headquarters across the nine districts of the state.
The protest commenced from 10 am and went on till 4 pm, said publicity and information secretary of the Joint Administrative Council, JAC, L Priyobarta under which state government employees undergoing cease-work strike since November 27, last year 2008 .
The protests of the teachers of the elementary schools were held under the banner of the All Manipur Elementary Teachers Association across the nine districts of the state marking the beginning of the series of sit-in protest decrying the government stand-off by not granting their demand for provision of revised pay structure of the 6th pay commission.
The same sit-in protest will be carried out by other employees in phase-wise manner till January 31 which JAC will change its course of agitation if there bring about any amicable agreement with the government.
Meanwhile, a statement of the AMESTA, Wangoi in a statement today said that if government decided not to pay the revised 6th pay to its employees then the prices of the goods which have been hiked after the implementation of the 6th pay commission should be cut down.
It said the prices of the goods have been hiked 60% to 70% percent with the start of the payment of 6th pay to the Central government employees and the employees of the state government are buying it with the pay structure of the 5th pay commission which was given during the period of W Nipamacha as chief minister of the state.
The statement also blamed government of dying the government run schools owing to its wrong policy.
When there are no qualified officers in the state education department apart from not having full-flagged director, joint director.