Employees of all 44 Block Grant colleges of Cuttack district under 662-category protested against the Government apathy for discriminating against their counterparts in the 488-category colleges by enhancing the latter’s salary in a Cabinet decision on Saturday.
They alleged that while the teachers of the 662 and 488 categories of aided colleges covered under 2008 and 2009 GIA policies were getting same salary under the 7th Pay since January 1, 2022, in the latest Cabinet decision on Saturday, the Government has hiked the salary of the teachers and other employees of the 488-category. As per the new scale of pay, a 488 category college teacher would get Rs 10,000 more than a teacher in 662-category college although they do the same work and their mode of appointment is the same.
The move is to break the unity of teachers of different categories as when they were unitedly fighting for their common causes the union was getting stronger, alleged Cuttack district president of 662 category Block Grant colleges association Ashok Parija.
He further alleged that while CM Naveen Patnaik had abolished the Block Grant system in order to provide justice to the long deprived employees in schools and colleges earlier, now some bureaucrats were again trying to perpetuate the Block Grant system by bringing discrimination in salaries and favouring one section against the other. He held Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra responsible for the mess and dubbed the move as a ploy to divert attention from the key demands of both the categories of employees, like service conditions and pension.
On Saturday, all the employees of 662 category Block Grant colleges of the district by wearing black badges performed their duties as a token of protest and warned the Government of holding a protest march and hunger strike in the State capital soon to press for pay parity and other demands.