Bengal: Para-teachers stage sit-in over pay hike after march to Assembly halted

Kolkata: Members of the 'Parsha Sikshak Mancha', a platform of various para-teacher organisations in West Bengal, staged a sit-in in the city's Bowbazar area on Thursday after police stopped their march to the state Assembly to demand a hike in wages.

Around 500 protesters, who had started from College Square and were heading towards the Assembly in the Esplanade area, were stopped at Subodh Mallick Square to prevent them from proceeding further. Vehicular movement in the area was disrupted, and protesters jostled with police personnel, officials said.

Indian Secular Front leader and Bhangar MLA Naushad Siddique went to the spot after taking time out from the Assembly session and expressed solidarity with the para-teachers. "Police cited prohibitory orders in the assembly area to prevent their march. I wonder what prevents the administration from allowing a five-member delegation to go and visit the assembly and submit their list of demands," he said.

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Swadesh Jana, a member of the forum, said para-teachers were being paid between Rs 9,000 and Rs 10,000 per month. "If we demand that it be raised to at least Rs 15,000, is that asking for too much?" he said. He demanded that the para-teachers be included in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as they don't have any gratuity benefits and are not included in any pension scheme. There are over 50,000 para-teachers in the state in over 67,000 primary/upper primary schools.