Despite orders from the government, private colleges in Telangana are going ahead with salary cuts for employees. This, despite the fact that many faculty are working from home full time, taking online classes.
The Telangana Technical Institutes Employees Association (TTIEA) has submitted a representation to Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, seeking her intervention following complaints from several professors. The complaint states that 29 private engineering institutes have not paid full salaries to employees.
The association has appealed to the Governor to make sure that those colleges, affiliated to the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University - Hyderabad (JNTUH), pay employees their full salaries for the months of February and March.
Bala Krishna, President, TTIEA, who sent the complaint to the Governor said that there are several hundred employees who are undergoing a hard time due to delay in salaries.
“The faculty are working online day and night to please the unsatisfiable college management, harassing principals and Department Heads. To put it straight, the staff are working more than what they used to do previously (offline) in colleges. In spite of doing all this, most of the faculty have not yet received salaries for the work they have already done,” says Bala Krishna.
One of the faculty members from a private college in Kompally on the condition of anonymity says, “Some of my colleagues have received only a partial salary of Rs 10,000 in their accounts, despite working from home.”
“And in another case, our institute has a practice of returning salary. This means we have one amount in our payslip and the same gets deposited. However, we need to return some of it. We get the next month's salary only if we return the previous month's amount to them, in cash,” he says.
The employee alleged that some of his colleagues could not return the amount last month due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown; they are yet to receive their salary for this month, despite working continuously.
The faculty member says that earlier, lecturers used to take classes on Zoom, the video chatting platform. Now the faculty have been asked to record all their lessons on YouTube, failing which they would be terminated from service.
This, despite instructions from the government as well as technical education authorities.
A recent circular from All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), dated April 15, stated, “It has been learnt that various institutions have not paid salary to their faculty and staff members, for the duration of the lockdown. Also, certain institutions have terminated the services of certain faculty / staff members. It is clarified that the salary and other dues to the faculty/staff members will be released for the duration of lockdown and also terminations, if any, made during the lockdown will be withdrawn.”
“Hence, the same may be strictly complied with. A letter in this regard has also been issued to the respective Chief Secretaries of all states/UTs including reimbursement of fees to the colleges/institutions,” it added.
Even as the lockdown began, the state of Telangana has issued an order asking all companies to pay full salaries.
According to Government Order No 45, released on March 22, 2020, “All the Government as well as private establishments shall make payments of wages/salaries fully to the workers/employees including those working under contract and outsourcing basis during the lockdown period. Any violation will be viewed seriously and will invite penal action under The Epidemics Disease Act 1897.”
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