Polytechnic teachers may go on strike after February 2

Visakhapatnam: The All India Federation of Polytechnic Teachers Organisations (AIFPTO) served notice to the Chairman, AICTE on Monday that it may go nation-wide strike at any day after February 2 against the inordinate delay of 7th Pay Revision.  

The AIFPTO announced that they would start protests from January 16 onwards for immediate announcement of PRC. The Federation on Monday informed to the AICTE and Union Government that it would move indefinite strike any day after February 2. Due to inordinate delay of more than three years, nearly 1.5 lakh polytechnic teachers across the country are being affected. 

“We have fear in the minds that general elections to the Lok Sabha are due in April/May and the code of conduct may come into force by February-end. In view of the issues, the Federation served the notice to AICTE and Union Government,” said president of AIFPTO N Chandra Sekhar. If the government has not taken a decision, all the government and aided polytechnic colleges across the country would be shut down, Chandra Sekhar added. 

A committee led by S Rajasekharaiah, founder Vice-Chancellor of Viswesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, has submitted its report to the Chairman of AICTE in July 2017 after a series of meetings with federations, associations, organisations of the AIFPTO. The AICTE has forwarded the recommendations of the PRC to the Union Ministry of HRD in December 2017.

However, there is no further step from the government to implement the PRC recommendations. The AIFPTO met the all the ministers and officials and urging for implementation of the PRC. Vexed with the inordinate delay in issue of necessary order to implement the PRC, the AIFPTO served notice for nation-wide stir, he lamented.

Despite the best efforts of the Federation, the government has been continuing to arrogantly ignore the AIFPTO demand for the 7th PRC notification despite the facts that the polytechnic teachers are the only leftover category of employees in the entire country, whose pay scales are yet to be revised, he added.