Chinju P Varghese stood at the college dean’s room that December day, dazed and confused. She had just asked him to allow maternity leave, as she was due to deliver a child within weeks. The man said no, she cannot have her maternity leave, she would have to resign. Chinju refused to do so, despite not having been paid her salary for months. But Chinju had also given an interest-free security deposit of Rs 8 lakh at the time she joined – September 2014. Three years later, the dean was telling her that she would get the deposit back only if she resigned. Many private colleges in Kerala collect these deposits for a job. Eventually, Chinju was forced to resign. So did another teacher who was going through a very similar predicament – Anju.
Both of them are now part of a 28-day long strike happening in front of the CET College of Management, Science and Technology in Airappuram, situated somewhere between Perumbavoor and Kozhencherry of Ernakulam district. There are 124 former staff – teachers and non-teachers -- of the college and their families taking part in the strike, with a single demand: return their security deposit that ranged from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, and settle their pending salary.
“The college -- a self financing one, falling under the MG University -- began functioning in 2006 and was doing well, offering so many courses, and the intake of students was increasing every year. The problems began in 2016 when the salaries began coming late. When it became pending for a few months, some of the teachers began protesting. About 95 per cent of the teachers are women,” says Eldho, Chinju’s husband, who is taking part in the strike with her.
Earlier, the staff had approached the management individually to complain about the pending payments. Every time they went, they were told that it would be settled soon. This went on for more than two years. But more than a month ago, a pregnant teacher, who allegedly failed to get anything out of the management after repeated efforts, attempted suicide. “That’s when all of us decided we should come together to strike and not keep trying individually. A Samara Samithi (Protest Committee) was formed,” says Basil A Paul, chairman, protest committee. His wife Anju was also a teacher at the college.
“Both Chinju and I went through the same problems around the same time. I too was denied my maternity leave and forced to resign. We were given a format in which it was written that we are resigning on our own. I was told that only if I resigned, I would get my pending salary (more than Rs 70,000) and security deposit (Rs 8 lakh), so I went ahead. I resigned in June 2018 and more than a year later I still haven’t got either,” says Anju.
Chinju, Anju and another teacher also called Chinju once approached the local police station to make a complaint, says Eldho. “But the police said that the issue here was of a civil nature and they couldn’t do anything about it. So then we went to see the DGP in Thiruvananthapuram and it was then that the police registered the case. It was recognised as a cheating case and got registered, at the Office of the Circle Inspector, Kunnathunad (Pattimattam Police Station), under section 420, and we went to the Ernakulam Principal Sessions court. Justice Dr Kauser Edappagath said that there should be mediation in the case. But the dean was not ready for it.”
An action council of local politicians was formed to support the protestors, says Basil. “They interfered and arranged a meeting with the dean but nothing came out of it.”
The dean – Paul Thomas, who is also the secretary of the Christian Educational Trust (owned by the Njarakattil family), running the college, says that he has met the protestors and would talk to them again. “I will settle their dues after selling a part of the campus. We have got assets worth Rs 100 crore, so I only need to sell some of it and give them the money -- I owe them Rs 12 crore. It is true the issue has been there for over two and a half years. The college was doing really well before that, with 37 courses being offered. We were going to start five MBA batches, and got the approval of the AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) too but the new government did not give sanction to it. I had spent Rs 5 crore on it. Soon after this, there was the demonetisation. Seeing all the issues at the college, the number of students have also come down from 5000 to 138 now. I could have sold the property before and paid the dues but there are some vested interests who prevent this from happening. Most of the striking teachers are not aware of this,” says Paul.
But the striking staff are tired of hearing this response, says Chinju. “We have been told the same thing for so long now,” she says.
Most of them have taken bank loans to pay the security deposit. “The situation is really bad,” says Eldho. They have approached the Women’s Commission too, and the complaint was heard during an Adalat. “They said that the government should interfere in the issue.”
The labour commissioner couldn’t interfere in disputes of teaching staff, says Basil.
The protestors have met the education minister C Raveendranath to give a complaint. They have also given a complaint to the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. “The media and the government are our only hope," they say.