We will discuss the teachers’ demands with the finance department and the Chief Minister to come to a favourable conclusion, said School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Saturday in Chennai. Over 1,000 teachers have been protesting in Chennai over the last nine days demanding ‘equal pay for equal work’.
Addressing mediapersons after an awareness walk on reading habit he said, “The teachers are asking only what we have promised. The finance department had a few questions for us, for which we are preparing answers and holding discussions. Once the pension committee announcements are done, we will soon decide on the teachers’ matters too.”
Organised by the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers’ Association (SSTA), they highlight a long-standing pay disparity. Secondary-grade teachers appointed before June 1, 2009, have a basic pay of ₹8,370, whereas those appointed after June, 2009 receive ₹5,200. Secondary grade teachers now draw a monthly salary of ₹20,600 while those appointed earlier receive over Rs 28,000. As new pay commissions have come into force, the difference has increased to over Rs 16,000. “These differences for a work that both of us do and with no higher or lesser work burden,” said a teacher from Kancheepuram.
The teachers held a protest on Saturday at the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) campus where over 1,000 teachers were once again detained.
As schools set to reopen on January 5, the teachers are resolute in continuing the protests. “The protests will go on until our demands are met. We want the government to fulfil its promise,” said Velmurugan, State vice president of SSTA.
Published – January 03, 2026 07:46 pm IST
