Chennai: Minister to hold discussions with Finance Dept to rectify pay anomaly of protesting teachers

CHENNAI: Following intense protests by secondary grade teachers over the week in the city, minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi told mediapersons on Saturday that he will hold discussions with the Finance minister and secretary to explore the feasibility of rectifying the pay anomaly faced by the teachers.The minister admitted that the teachers only demanded what was promised in the DMK's election manifesto.The protests, spearheaded by the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers' Association (SSTA), centred around a pay anomaly faced by teachers who joined before May 31, 2009, and on or after Jun 1, 2009. While the former's basic pay was fixed at Rs 8,370, the latter's was about Rs 5,300.This difference, teachers said, also affected their allowances and increments, all of which were tied to basic pay. "As of date, the difference in the overall salary between the teachers is around Rs 9,000, even though we do the same work," Velmurugan, deputy state head, SSTA, said.The minister said he collated news items from 2009 to study the issue. "A favourable decision will be made for the teachers," the minister told presspersons in the city.