Ludhiana: Private colleges ignoring pay hike for unaided staff, says union
Association of United College Teachers says private colleges delaying implementation of pay revision approved by the Punjab govt in 2022
The Association of United College Teachers (AUCT) has written to the vice-chancellor of Panjab University, urging strict action against private colleges affiliated with the university for not complying with the University Grants Commission (UGC) 7th Pay Commission. The union has alleged that these colleges have failed to implement the revised pay scales for their unaided staff, despite clear directives from the university.
In the letter, union spokesperson Tarun Ghai said that the Punjab government had approved the UGC 7th Pay Commission on September 28, 2022. Following this, Panjab University issued an instruction in May 2023 for affiliated colleges to implement the new pay structure.
To support this, the university approved a 7.5% increase in fees for courses like BA, BCom, BSc, MA, MCom, and MSc, and a 12.5% fee hike for self-financed courses. However, the university stipulated that the additional funds must be used to pay staff according to the new salary scales. Despite this, the AUCT has claimed that many private colleges have failed to implement the revised pay scales.
Jaspal Singh, general secretary the union, said that only staff on aided posts had received the pay revision, leaving unaided staff members ignored. He alleged that colleges have retained the additional funds meant for salary payments for themselves.
Ghai said that not a single privately managed college had taken the necessary steps to implement the revised pay scales for its unaided staff.
The union has urged Panjab University to take immediate action and ensure that all staff members receive their revised salaries as per the state government’s directive.