Manipal University on Wednesday said it had decided to revise the salaries of its employees from April 1, 2014, after protests from the non-teaching staff of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) in Manipal and Mangalore.
The university had revised the salary in 2012 (with effect from April 1, 2012) with good raises, a press release said. Though the industry norms were to carry out salary revision once in three to four years, the university had decided to undertake a salary revision and had been working on it. It had already decided to carry out the salary revision with effect from April 1, 2014, which had been communicated to the employees, the release said.
‘Benefits curtailed’Earlier in the day, the members of the Manipal University Non-Teaching Staff Association staged a dharna in front of the university building in Manipal demanding a hike in their salaries on par with that of the Central/State government employees.
Ravindran Nair, Joint Secretary of the association, said that after MAHE got the deemed university status, the salaries and other benefits of the non-teaching staff had been curtailed.
There was a wide difference in pay scale of the university and State Government since 2012. The basic pay in the State government started at Rs. 9,600, but the basic pay in the university started at Rs. 4,000, he said.
The non-teaching staff members had been wearing black badges in support of their demand since January 16, Mr. Nair said.
Purushotham K. N., General Secretary, Manipal University Mazdoor Union, said the hospital management called them on Friday and promised them the issue would be addressed. “However, that was verbal and nothing has been given to us in writing,” he said.
The employees also staged a protest at KMC Hospital in Attavar, Mangalore. Sudarshan, president, Manipal University Non Teaching Employees Association, said they wanted the basic pay to begin with Rs. 5,000 for the first category of non-teaching staff and other scales should be proportionately increased. He said the share for non teaching staff from the Rs. 48 crore corpus (for teaching and non teaching staff) should be increased from the current Rs. 5 crore. The last salary raise was in 1996, which was meagre (Rs. 200 to Rs. 250) and increments were of Rs. 80, he said.
‘Unfortunate protest’G.K. Prabhu, Registrar of the University, said in the release that it was “most unfortunate” that a section of employees had gathered in Mangalore and Udupi, and held demonstration and shouted slogans demanding salary increase.
“The union/association, which we consider has no locus standi nor any majority support, is trying to establish its leadership through pressure tactics by creating trouble,” Mr. Prabhu said and added, “A handful of employees should not be allowed to exploit the situation to serve their individual agenda.”
