SBSSU staff on chain hunger strike, family members join in protest

SBSSU staff on chain hunger strike, family members join in protest

Demands immediate release of Rs.11.65 cr budget for pending wages

Ferozepur, April 10, 2024:  The Shaheed Bhagat Singh State University staff has been on a chain hunger strike since March 14, protesting for the non-release of 7 months’ wages and today one of the family members of staff who was sitting on dharna, joined in the protest to support them and making an appeal to the government to come forward to immediate release the grant for release of pending wages. The local employee unions of various departments support the University staff.

Joint Action Committee members sitting on dharna along with the two members on chain hunger strike – Dr Rajiv Arora and Davinder Monga said, the government has announced the double the grant of the University from Rs.15 cr to Rs.30 cr. Still, it remained in the papers and was not released.  It is not understood why the minimum budget for wages is released regularly to get the teaching and non-teaching staff to get regular wages.

Earlier also, the staff had gone on a pen-down strike but the same was withdrawn with the intervention of a new Vice-Chancellor to solve the issue within a fortnight.  But seeing no outcome, the staff has been left with no alternative but to sit on a chain hunger strike to express their resentment of protest.  We have even approached the higher authorities also in this regard with no fruitful results.

Today, one of the staff members’ family – Harish Monga and Asha Monga – joined the protest to support the staff.  Speaking on the occasion, they said, it is deplorable that the issue of non-release of pending wages is not a matter of discussion as it is a regular feature.  The other issues like the budget for promotions, new recruitments, and research work being a University could be a matter of discussion and debate for finalizing the budget.  The real issue is now the study of 1616 students of the University given the staff on strike for which neither the government nor the technical education departments, are serious and the ultimate sufferers are students, not the government.

Appealing the government, JAC members Dr Kulbhushan Agnihotri, President ECTA, Gurpreet Singh, President SWA, Dr Rakesh Kumar, General Secretary and others urged the government to release Rs.11.65 cr for release of pending wages besides making an enhanced provision in grant for the next session.