JACTO-GEO members protest pressing for demands

JACTO-GEO members rally for old pension scheme, dearness allowance, and pay parity, threatening mass strike if demands not met.

Raising several demands, including implementation of old pension scheme, members of Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations and Government Employees Organisation (JACTO-GEO) took out a rally from World Tamil Sangam to Collectorate here on Tuesday. 

They demanded the abolition of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and sought the revival of the old pension scheme, ending the practice of outsourcing employees for government departments through private agencies, disbursement of dearness allowance without delay and resumption of the leave encashment.   

Murugaiyan, State coordinator, said that their demands were not new, but which were promised by DMK during the election.  

Now, it is more than four years, but still the government was not heeding to the voices of the protesting teachers, he added.  

Even some of the basic demands like pay for teachers of all grades - middle, primary, high and higher secondary, including physical education teachers, on a par with the pay scale of the Central government, filling of existing vacancies to reduce the burden off the existing staff, were not fulfilled by the State government, Mr. Murugaiyan stated.  

“We demand the immediate announcement of the promises in the Assembly session itself,” he added.  

The protesters warned that if the demands were not met, they would organise a mass State-wide strike in Chennai.