Bengal para-teachers stage demonstration demanding pay hike

Kolkata, Feb 27 (PTI) Around 200 members of a joint platform of para-teachers in West Bengal on Friday staged a demonstration outside Bikash Bhavan, the headquarters of the state education department, demanding a pay hike.

In another demonstration, around 500 ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers scuffled with police before the Swasthya Bhavan (state health department headquarters) when police asked them to leave the spot, citing imposition of prohibitory orders in the area.

The protesting teachers of 'Sangrami Joutha Mancha' jostled with police personnel before sitting on the road and demanding an audience with state Education Minister Bratya Basu.

"Para-teachers are being paid between Rs 9,000 and Rs 10,000 per month, which is very little. We demand that it be raised to Rs 15,000-20,000. The Rs 1,000 hike announced in the state's vote-on-account is meagre," Pritha Lahiri said on behalf of the protesting para-teachers.

The forum also demanded provident fund and gratuity benefits, and relief from election duties on a par with state government teachers and other employees.

This was the forum's second protest this week and the third since last week.

There are over 50,000 para-teachers in the state in around 67,000 primary and upper primary schools.

Earlier this week, on February 23, and last week, the para-teachers' platform had demonstrated before Bikash Bhavan for several hours.

Meanwhile, ASHA workers, under the aegis of an SUCI (Communist)-affiliated union, said that while they are a vital part of every healthcare initiative of the state government, are deployed in vaccination projects, and work for more than 12 hours every day, they get less than Rs 4,500 per month and have not even been getting their salaries for the past three months.

They want the honorarium be increased to Rs 15,000 per month.

Their request to meet Principal Secretary of Health Department, N S Nigam, was turned down. PTI SUS ACD