Jacto-Geo to protest across TN on Feb 25

TIRUCHY: Members of the Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers Organisations and Government Employees Organisation (Jacto-Geo) announced a protest across the State on February 25 for a charter of demands including the revival of old pensions and the release of surrender leave benefits.

The Jacto-Geo state-level high command meeting was held in Tiruchy in which the State coordinators Mayil, Selvaraj and Ponnivalavan presided over and they told the reporters that the meeting resolved to insist the State government to withdraw the new pension scheme and revive the old pension scheme.

The meeting also demanded the government release the surrender leave benefits, and salary of secondary grade teachers, graduate teachers, high and higher secondary School headmasters, physical directors and physical instructors on par with the pay scale of the union government employees.

The office bearers also demanded the School Education Department to drop the GO 243 and solve the pay parity among the teachers, and government employees. They also appealed to promote the secondary school teachers to the graduate teachers.

Their demands included the time pay scale for the Anganwadi workers, village assistants, and panchayat secretaries who are provided with a consolidated pay scale, filling the vacancies in the departments where 30 per cent of vacancies exist.

They also demanded to streamline the pay scale of the teachers and government employees who were appointed between 2002 and 2004.

“We have planned to hold a protest at taluk level on February 16 with these demands and later, a mega protest in all the district headquarters across the State on February 25,” they said.

They also demanded to announce the withdrawal of the new pension scheme and revival of the old pension scheme in the coming budget itself.