People's Democracy

ON GRATUITY TO TEACHERS

 Central TUs Denounce SC Verdict

ON January 15, nine major central trade union organisations expressed serious concern over the recently delivered ruling of the Supreme Court denying to the teachers the right to gratuity. The apex court gave this ruling while dismissing the petition of Ahmedabad Private Primary Teachers’ Association challenging the similar judgement earlier given by the Gujarat High Court.

The trade unions who issued the statement to this effect from New Delhi were the CITU, AITUC, AICCTU, HMS, INTUC, TUCC, BMS, UTUC and UTUC (LS). They said the judgement was given on sheer technical ground, saying that the definition of employees under section 2(E) of the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 cannot cover the teachers, as teachers do not answer the description of being employees who are skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled. The unions found it surprising that the apex court could take such a view despite there being a specific government notification extending the provision of the Gratuity Act to educational institutions.

Gratuity is the most important part of the retirement or separation benefit, besides being an important social security measure, being enjoyed by the teachers’ community since long. The trade union centres said the Supreme Court judgement denying the same to the teachers will not only have a bearing on the teachers in Gujarat but also on the teachers’ community throughout the country, particularly when the education system is being privatised and commercialised in big way.

While denouncing such an approach of axing a vital social security benefit for the teaching community of the country on sheer technical grounds, the central trade union organisations asked the government to take urgent appropriate step to negate the pernicious impact of this judgement that denies the right to gratuity to the teaching community that is playing a vital role in educating the future generations of the country. (INN)