PU lecturers, principals to protest against 6th Pay Commission

Lecturers and principals of government pre-university colleges have decided to observe "Black Shivaratri" on February 13 to mark their protest against the Sixth Pay Commission for not accepting their pay hike demand.

The decision was taken at a meeting called by the lecturers' and principals' associations here on Sunday. They will be holding a symbolic protest at the Gandhi statue near Maurya Circle. Thimmaiah Purle, president of the Lecturers' Association, said they would meet again on February 27 to decide the future course of their struggle.

The ex-gratia of Rs 500 being paid to lecturers and Rs 1,000 to principals has not been included in the basic pay. The Commission has also not made any proposal for separate pay scale for principals, the associations said.

If their demands had been considered, the basic pay for the lecturers would be Rs 52,260 instead of the Rs 43,100 proposed now. "For these reasons, we are rejecting the Commission's proposal," Purle said.

During their earlier struggle, the chief minister had promised that the Commission's proposal would address their demands but this promise has not been kept, said MLC K T Srikante Gowda.