Teachers in Chandigarh protest for unpaid wages and tenure

Teachers in Chandigarh held a protest at the Sector 25 Rally Ground. They were demanding changes to tenure rules for special deputation employees and the release of overdue payments for teachers. Members of the Punjab and Haryana Employees Welfare Association and the Joint Teachers' Association joined the rally. They accused the administration of being insensitive to their concerns. Protesters claimed that officials were trying to impose unfair tenure limits without proper review of legal guidelines. They insisted that any such decisions should involve employee representatives. The leaders of the protest stressed that if a tenure limit were legally required, they would accept it. However, they argued that the current move is against the law and central government policies. They also expressed frustration over the administration's failure to arrange a meeting with the chief secretary, despite requests. Additionally, the protest highlighted the issue of unpaid arrears for 1,300 teachers and staff under the Samagra Shiksha program. The protesters pointed out that although funds were available, the administration had returned unused money to the central government instead of paying employees. They are demanding that all payments be made by the end of March. The teachers warned that if their demands are not met, they plan to organize a large car rally in Chandigarh. The protest concluded with a moment of silence for a student who recently died by suicide at a nearby school.