The sacked non-teaching staff who had been barred from returning to school and promised an allowance by the state government resumed their protests on Tuesday. They alleged that the government had yet to clarify when they would start getting the allowance.
On Tuesday, they joined the protests being staged by the sacked schoolteachers outside Bikash Bhavan, the education secretariat.
Group C staff member Bikram Polle, among those leading the protests, said chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced on April 27 that the Group C and D staff would be provided monthly allowances of ₹25,000 and ₹20,000, respectively.
He said they had repeatedly asked the government when they would get the allowance, but had not got a response.
“The ‘not specifically tainted’ teachers will get their salaries till December. But we don’t know when we will get the allowance. We are suffering without any clarity,” Polle said.
In a petition seeking a review of the Supreme Court’s April 3 order terminating 25,753 teaching and non-teaching staff, the state government said the court should allow the non-teaching staff to continue service till a fresh recruitment process is completed.
The state government, in its plea, has said that though the court allowed “not specifically found tainted” teachers to go to school till December and draw salaries, no such relief was granted to the non-teaching staff.
The apex court declined to grant any relief contending that the scope of illegalities was “substantially” high in the appointment of the non-teaching staff.
A non-teaching employee said they were also protesting the government’s decision to hold a fresh recruitment exercise.
“We did not commit any illegality in getting jobs. So, we won’t take part in any recruitment exercise,” said Amit Mondal, a sacked Group C employee.
A delegation of non-teaching staff met education department officials to press for their demands later on Tuesday.
An education department official said: “We told them a government order on the allowance would be issued soon. About holding a fresh recruitment process, we have to abide by the Supreme Court’s order.”