BENGALURU: The functioning of the country’s premier research institute Indian Institute of Science has been affected after non-teaching, non-technical staff went on an indefinite strike from Friday.
Attenders, clerks and helpers gathered outside the main building of the campus and they claimed they have not got any pay hike or promotion for years. “We are the group D employees, who assist the lecturers and IISC management has not given us a basic pay hike for years and in some cases even decades. I have been working here for the past 39 years, changed posts, but still not got a raise. Some have even worked for 40 years and retired without an increase,” said one of the protesting staff, on condition of anonymity.
The staff members told DC that they have been raising the issue with the management for the past six years. We were given a lot of false promises, whenever we raised the issue. Now we are fed up and have decided to go on strike.
“The director is apathetic about the welfare of employees at lower positions. They have done evaluations for professors and raised their salaries or position, but not for us. I have been working here for 27 years. They said we can go to court if we want, but they will not budge,” said another attendant.
The support staff resent the fact that evaluations are done for the teaching staff every few years and they also get automatic promotions. “IISc is having a council meeting, sometime next week. Members from the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development will be coming from Delhi. We want them to discuss our demands. Our strike will continue as of now,” the attender added.
Despite repeated attempts by DC, IISc Director Professor Anurag Kumar remained unreachable to comment on the issue.
