Chennai: Secondary-grade teachers have renewed their demand for ‘equal pay for equal work’, urging the TVK govt to resolve a long-pending pay disparity.According to the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers’ Association (SSTA), teachers appointed after June 1, 2009, receive a basic pay that is ₹3,170 lower than that of those appointed before that date. After accounting for allowances and 12 annual increments, the difference in their current pay has widened to more than ₹10,000, although both groups perform the same work.“School education minister Rajmohan had promised to set up a high-level committee to look into the matter, but there has been no progress so far. The pay disparity has continued for more than a decade, affecting thousands of secondary-grade teachers across the state. The new govt should prioritise the issue and resolve it at the earliest,” said J Robert, general secretary of the SSTA.The teachers said the issue should be resolved through discussions rather than by merely announcing committees. “A similar committee was formed during the previous govt, and the DMK had promised in its 2021 election manifesto to resolve the issue. Although the govt addressed the demands of other sections of teachers, including part-time educators, the demands of secondary teachers have been ignored,” said S Sivanathan, a secondary-grade teacher.The SSTA held statewide protests in Dec last year raising the demand.
