Talks to continue to resolve pay disparity issue, say secondary grade teachers

The secondary grade teachers and officials of the School Education Department held talks on Monday in Chennai to resolve the issue of pay disparity among teachers.

Six representatives of the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers’ Association (SSTA) met with the Director of School Education and Elementary Director to arrive at a conclusion. After nearly three hours of deliberation, SSTA secretary J. Robert said the talks would continue on Tuesday.

“As the School Education Secretary will be available tomorrow, and with the School Education Minister there, the talks will continue. We hope the issue will be resolved soon. Until then, the protests will continue,” he said.

Secondary grade teachers in the city have been protesting for the past 10 days to highlight the long-standing pay disparity due to their date of appointment. Those teachers appointed before June 1, 2009, have a basic pay of ₹8,370, whereas those appointed after June 2009 get ₹5,200.