The Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers’ Association (SSTA) on Saturday staged a hunger protest here demanding ‘equal pay for equal work.’
J. Vinoth Babu, district president, SSTA, said that despite Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s assurance in 2023 that the problems of pay parity would be resolved in a few months, it was still ongoing.
The teachers said their demand was constantly being neglected by the State government. Each time they gathered for a protest, the government dispersed them with a false promise that their demand would be met. “The DMK government, which supported our protest and demands while being in the opposition, now refuses to hear us out and acts like an adversary.”
While the basic pay for teachers appointed before June 1, 2009, was ₹8,370, those appointed after the date received only ₹5,200.
Mr. Babu said the salary difference touched about ₹20,000. “Under the next pay commission, the difference can even touch ₹50,000.”
The protest was a precursor to a State-wide protest to fill prisons in September, he added..
Published – July 26, 2025 07:51 pm IST
