STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Castigating the State Government for paying no heed to the plight of lecturers engaged on Academic Arrangements besides playing with their career, the chain hunger strike of all J and K Contractual Lecturers (10+2) Forum seeking regularization of services entered fifth day at Exhibition Ground, here in Saturday.
Vinod Kumar, a contractual Iecturer has been observing fast unto death since Tuesday until a concrete assurance regarding their demands was given by the government.
Urging for the implementation of Apex Court’s decision of ‘equal pay for equal work’ in J and K, contractual Iecturers regretted that the exploitation of the educated youth engaged as Academic Arrangement in schools on nominal wages was deplorable and inhumane.
He said that engagement of Ph.Ds, M.Phils and double post graduates as lecturers in the said institutions for negligible emoluments of Rs. 7,000 per month as against handsome salary for their counterparts in regular establishment, despite the same nature of work, was highly discriminatory and amounted to worst form of human rights violation.
He said that the lecturers who were made to work at lesser wage did not do so voluntarily but did so to provide food and shelter to his family at the cost of his self respect and dignity.
Seeking regularisation, Vinod sought a framing of a suitable regularisation policy for the incumbents.
He said that the use and throw policy adopted by the Govt. with regard to such highly educated youth was most contemptuous and shall not be tolerated any more. He further said that the aggrieved under employed lecturers shall take the hunger strike to its logical conclusion and cautioned the State government that it would be squarely responsible in case any untoward incident took place due to fasting. Those who observed hunger strike today along with Vinod included Randeep Singh, Kanchan Bala, Balwinder, Bablu Kumar, Rajni Sharma, Seema Rajput, Vijay Sharma, Kiran Bala and Reva Rani.
