7th Pay Commission: Teachers From Jammu & Kashmir to Protest Today in Delhi Demanding Salary Hike

New Delhi, Sept 24: Bringing their agitation to the national capital, a delegation of 250 teachers from Jammu & Kashmir will be protesting in Delhi today demanding salary hike as per the 7th Pay Commission recommendations.

The agitators represent 41,000 J&K government teachers, who have been regularised after 5 years of service. Since they were contractual employees earlier, the CPC benefits were not extended to them. For other state employees, the erstwhile Mehbooba Mufti-led government had rolled out the wage increment as per the 7th Pay Commission recommendations. Government Announces 2 Per Cent Hike in DA for Its Employees With Effect From July 1

"We are going for a sit-in protest in Delhi tomorrow… Our protest has failed to attract the attention of the (Jammu and Kashmir) Governor (Satya Pal Malik),” Kuldeep Singh, provincial president of Teachers Joint Action Committee (TJAC) - an amalgam of various teachers’ organisations - told news agency PTI on Sunday.

"The protest in Delhi is part of the programme chalked out by us and if our demand is not met, we will be forced to close down all schools across the state. We do not want the students to suffer but we have no other alternative,” he added.

Meanwhile, hundreds of J&K teachers gathered in Srinagar on Sunday to raise their plight before the State Administrative Council. The protesters have appealed Governor Malik to take cognizance of their issue.

The TJAC began their protest on August 30, launching an indefinite hunger chain strike in Jammu. They have threatened to go on strike if their plight continues to remain ignored.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 24, 2018 12:35 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).