Para teachers demonstrate outside WB Assembly demanding pay parity

We will find out how they managed to climb a gateof the Assembly though police personnel were posted there.We will find out whether there was any lapse insecurity, the officer said adding a team of Rapid ActionForce of the city police has been deployed at the spot.We want equal pay for equal work at par with regularteachers and retirement benefits.

Women members of an organization of para teachers Wednesday staged a demonstration outside WestBengal Assembly demanding parity in pay with regular teachers in schools, police said.

A team of women police personnel reached the Assemblygates and removed the demonstrators.

A senior official said over 50 members of 'SikshakOikyo Mukto Manch' demonstrated outside the Assembly gateswhere prohibitory orders are in vogue, a senior officer said.

''Over 50 para teachers have been removed from outside the Assembly gates. One of them fell sick during the operation. We will find out how they managed to climb a gate of the Assembly though police personnel was posted there.

''We will find out whether there was any lapse in security,'' the officer said adding a team of Rapid ActionForce of the city police has been deployed at the spot.

''We want equal pay for equal work at par with regular teachers and retirement benefits. We want to meet chief minister Mamata Banerjee. This is a fight for our self-respect,'' Gita Biswas, one of the agitating teachers, told reporters.

The state education department had increased the salary of para teachers at the primary level from Rs 5,954 toRs 10,000 a month and for those at the higher secondary level from Rs 8,500 to Rs 13,000.

Asked about the incident, state minister Subrata Mukherjee said, ''The assembly doesn't belong to any particular party. Besides, there are places to hold such agitations to air grievances. In a parliamentary democracy, one can always demonstrate but not in the assembly premises.'' Minister Firhad Hakim blamed the opposition for using the para teachers as ''guinea pigs'' to create issues before the state poll.

''Any stir at this point will not be of any help restrictions due to the coming election will be imposed before the government can take a planned action,'' he added.

State BJP spokesman Samik Bhattacharya said the issueof para teachers should have been addressed with a humaneapproach by the government.

He also accused Mamata Banerjee of promising parateachers before coming to power but failing to implement themafter becoming the chief minister, he said.

''Minister Subrata Mukherjee has suggested that thedemonstrators should have agitated at a proper place and notoutside the assembly gate. The teachers have already heldprolonged sit-ins outside education headquarters BikashBhavan, went to the secretariat, held protests in publicthoroughfares of the city but did not get any response fromthe government,'' Bhattacharya said.

CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty and Congress leaderAbdul Mannan said the Mamata Banerjee government is actingwith the same insensitivity towards the para teachers asthe Centre is towards the farmers.

The para teachers' salary should be revised and theyshould be given salaries promised by Banerjee, he added.