Mamata announces pay hike for college, university teachers

Kolkata, Nov 5 (SocialNews.XYZ) Teachers in state-aided colleges and universities in West Bengal stand to get a better pay packet from the New Year with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announcing on Tuesday that her government would implement the revised UGC pay scale from January 1 next year.

However, a teachers' body expressed unhappiness over the announcement and threatened to go on 'cease work' later this month.

"The state government has now decided to implement the revised UGC pay scale for all state-aided colleges universities from January 1, 2020," Banerjee said at an event here.

The Chief Minister said that the implementation of the revised pay scale, as per the seventh Central Pay Commission, will cost the government an additional Rs 1,000 crore.

The teachers will also get an increment of 3 per cent on their respective salaries for four years, from 2016-19, Banerjee said.

The Chief Minister also announced a Rs 5,000 hike for part time teachers of state-aided colleges and universities. To ensure job security, the government has decided that their services will continue till 60 years of age, she said.

However, one of the teachers' unions said that they have been denied four years' benefits.

"The pay scale should have been implemented with effect from January 1, 2016 as announced by the UGC. This is the first time that we have been denied our dues like this. We had earier announced a two-day cease work on November 19 and 20. We will stick to it," Jadavpur University Teachers' Association (JUTA) General Secretary Partha Pratim Roy told IANS.

Source: IANS