Bhubaneswar: Teachers agitating for the past 35 days threatened to continue their strike after a meeting with the State Government ended inconclusively today.
According to sources, an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera along with ministers and secretaries of School and Mass Education and Higher Education departments and the members of Odisha School College Teachers and Employees’ United Forum was held to end the long-standing deadlock.
Convenor of Odisha School College Teachers and Employees’ United Forum, Golak Nayak informed that "The meeting remained inconclusive because the government reiterated their old demand and asked the teachers to stick to the affidavit clause. They also said to look into our other demands in a phased manner."
"When we urged them to immediately release our pending salaries and implement recommendations of the 7th pay commission so that we may give three months time for other demands, they declined to accept and so, we have decided to continue our strike," Nayak said.
The Block grant teachers and employees have been agitating for the past 35 days demanding removal of affidavit clause in the newly-announced grant-in-aid system, equal salary for equal work, provision of full aid and several other service conditions.