TEACHERS’ UNION CALLS OFF STRIKE AFTER GOVT’S ASSURANCES

MUMBAI: After refusing to conduct lectures for 16 days, teachers in aided sections of degree colleges in Maharashtra decided to discontinue their strike after the state government gave in to several of their demands. The teachers will resume their duties from Thursday.

Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teachers’ Union (MFUCTU), the umbrella body of teachers’ unions in the state which spearheaded the strike, announced the decision following a meeting of its executive committee on Wednesday.

On September 25, the day the strike began, education minister Vinod Tawde met some of the teachers’ representatives and made a number of assurances, which the union found to be inadequate. “The revised minutes of the meetings show that positive changes have been made. We decided to call off the strike as a positive reply to our education minister’s presentation,” read a statement by MFUCTU.

As a result of the strike, colleges were unable to hold classes of their aided sections. Examinations, however, remained unaffected as teachers decided to report for them despite the ongoing strike. The teachers want the government to lift its ban on the recruitment of teachers and other staff funded by the state, besides implementingtherecommendations of the seventh pay commission.

Earlier, the government had assured it would partially lift the recruitment freeze on teachers, and said a high-power committee of the state has already cleared the way for complete recruitment to fill non-teaching positions in aided colleges. It also requested 60% of teaching posts be filled and the remaining be hired on an hourly basis.