Now, non-teaching employees of Punjabi University threaten stir

Patiala, October 9

Already witnessing protests by students and faculty, work at Punjabi University is set to take a further hit with the unions of non-teaching Class B and C employees announcing that they would protest against the delay in disbursal of salaries.

In the coming days, the university may see protests by teaching staff, non-teaching employees and students at the same time over one or the other matter on the campus.

A majority of these protests are a result of the university’s inability to disburse salaries on time and meet its financial liabilities due to insufficient grants released by the state government.

On Thursday, the sanitation workers had locked the Vice Chancellor’s office to press for an increment in salary, release of arrears and other matters. The matter was resolved after intervention by Vice Chancellor Arvind. The next day, students associated with the Secular Youth Federation of India (SYFI) locked the office of the Dean, Student Welfare, over alleged hostel food scam and other matters. Their protest is still going on.

The teachers’ union has been holding a two-hour protest on all working days since June 16, demanding sufficient grants from the state government.

Mohammad Zaheer Lourey, vice-president, Class B and C Non-teaching Employees’ Union, said: “The University has failed to disburse salaries on time. We held a meeting of the union on Saturday and decided to launch a protest against the delay. We will first submit a memorandum to the university administration. If they fail to release the salaries in time, we will go ahead with out protest.”