Madras University Syndicate withdraws proposal to revise pay scales of non-teaching staff

The Syndicate of the University of Madras, on Monday, withdrew a proposal to revise the pay scales of non-teaching staff of the university to bring them on par with the State government-approved scales for similar posts.

The University has been in the eye of a storm as the non-teaching staff resorted to protests on campus to express their displeasure earlier this month. The Syndicate meeting was also postponed twice before being finally held. On Monday, too, the staff gathered at the lobby of the building that houses the Vice Chancellor’s office and the Syndicate room and sat through the day till the meeting was over.

The proposal, which has since been withdrawn, stated that the difference in scales “pose a challenge in terms of self-sustainability and parity”, seeking approval for government-approved pay scales and promotion policies for non-teaching staff.

“The Syndicate has withdrawn the item from the agenda,” said S. Balakrishnan, president, University of Madras Non-teaching Staff Association. “Senior officials also assured us after the meeting that there would be no revision of pay scales for the existing staff.”

The staff and teachers of the university belonging to various associations, came together under a joint action committee to oppose this move. The argument put forth by the unions was that the item in the agenda did not include any details on what would be the nature of the revision, what would be the timeline and the modalities for the same.

Besides, they argued that the current pay fixation happened in the late 1980s following recommendations by the Dr. Venugopal and Dr. Arumugam committees and was approved by the Seventh Pay Commission.