Navi Mumbai: Contract teachers demand salary hike

Navi Mumbai: A delegation of teachers working on a contract with the education department of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) on a lump-sum salary amount met the municipal commissioner Rajesh Narvekar and demanded an increase in their monthly salary. At present, A total of 467 teachers and other staff are working on a lump sum basis salary.

The delegation said that apart from teaching, they are assigned other works such as carrying out government surveys and working during the Covid-19 period among others. The delegation alleged that even without any kind of insurance coverage during the Covid period, all contractual teachers performed many responsibilities assigned by the civic administration with no additional allowances.

Despite executing all work, these teachers are often treated unfairly by the civic administration. “Even after doing so much work, they are paid only Rs.20000/- per month. With such low salaries, these teachers are unable to meet all the needs in a city like Navi Mumbai. Rising inflation has been putting mounting pressure on the teachers,” said Siddharam Shilwant, a senior member of the Primary Teachers Association working on a contract. They alleged that there has been no increase since 2017.

The delegation informed the media that the municipal commissioner assured them to take a positive decision after discussing with the Deputy Commissioner of Education, Yogesh Kaduskar.