Hundreds of teachers, sanitation workers detained during protests in Chennai

Chennai, Dec 27 (PTI) Hundreds of secondary grade teachers and sanitation workers were detained by the police when they staged separate protests here on Saturday demanding pay parity and reinstatement, respectively.

Over 500 sanitation workers, mostly women, attempted to take out a procession from Parry's Corner to the Secretariat to petition the Chief Minister seeking his intervention to reinstate the sanitation workers who allegedly lost their jobs during the Greater Chennai Corporation's move to privatise solid waste management in two zones in the city.

However, they were stopped enroute and detained by the police.

They have been protesting for 150 days against privatisation, demanding reinstatement of workers and regularisation of services.

Earlier, a tense situation prevailed at Parry's Corner for some time when the workers resorted to a sudden road roko when police stopped them from proceeding to the Secretariat. They were taken away in 34 buses and were later let off.

The members of the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers Association (SSTA) continued their protest for the second day today urging the state government to ensure "same pay for same work" by rectifying the pay anomaly for those who joined service after June 1, 2009.

The difference in basic pay of secondary grade teachers appointed on or after June 1, 2009, was Rs 3,170 lower than those who entered the service a day earlier, and this increased to over Rs 9,000 due to subsequent pay commission revisions, they claimed.

Over 1,000 teachers who protested in front of the Chief Education Officer's office in Egmore were "forcibly" removed and detained. About ten teachers fainted in the jostling, while the clothes of many got torn when they were taken to the buses by the police. PTI JSP JSP ROH