Tamil Nadu

College teachers plan fast

MADURAI: College teachers will go on hunger strike in the city on November 5 demanding payment of salary and better working conditions for the faculty members of Saraswathi Narayanan College, an autonomous institution.

The agitation would take place under the aegis of Madurai Kamaraj, Manonmaniam Sundaranar, Mother Teresa and Alagappa University Teachers’ Association (MUTA) and staff members from various colleges would join the hunger strike to express their solidarity with 27 teaching staff who did not get their salary since August.

Stating this to reporters here on Thursday, S. Vivekanandan, general secretary of MUTA, said that the fast was organised to get public attention on the “ attitude of college management and the sad plight of teachers, who are without sustenance on eve of Deepavali.”

He alleged that the management had refused to pay the salary for 27 teachers even though the Madras High Court had stayed their suspension.

Alleging that Government orders were “not properly implemented” by the management of Saraswathi Narayanan College, Mr. Vivekanandan said that several rounds of talks did not yield the desired results.

“Faculty members are not allowed to attend refresher courses, important seminars and university paper valuation work. They have to sign the attendance register twice a day, which is against government orders,” he said.

Responding to a question, he said that the association was ready for democratic talks but the management’s demand for unconditional apology from the 27 suspended teachers was not acceptable.

When contacted for his reaction to the proposed fast, the Principal, S. Suriyanarayanan, said that he was hopeful that the issue would be solved amicably. “The problem is about signing the attendance twice daily. The management insists on it whereas the faculty objects to it. In the interest of students, both the management and teachers should be flexible to settle the matter,” the Principal said.

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