Over 12,000 non-teaching staff of the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) went on a day-long dharna today to protest anomalies in pay and promotion structure. The employees — technical staff, laboratory staff and office assistants — however, did not boycott work.
The most important issue of the All IIT Employees Union, was to reduce the existing 12-year promotion policy to 10 years. The Union also wanted salary increment between Rs 3,200 and Rs 4,900 in the first promotion of the lowest-rung IIT non-teaching staff.
D Karmakar, president, IIT Kharagpur Employees Union, said: “We had placed our demands to directors in June this year. A directors’ committee was set up to look into our demands. Most directors had agreed. But the IIT Council, the highest deciding body, neither realised the importance of our demands in their meeting on October 19, nor indicate any interest in resolving the issues soon.
