Imphal, July 19: The 2018 batch of the Lecturer Association Manipur (LAM) has announced a six-day pen-down strike in protest starting from July 21 against the non-implementation of their long-pending service regularisation order, which was approved by the Manipur Cabinet in 2019.
The announcement was made by Irengbam Malemnganbi, General Secretary of LAM, during a press conference held on Saturday at the Manipur Press Club, Imphal. She said that the unanimous decision to launch the strike was taken by the 603 lecturers of the association after years of repeated appeals to the government yielded no response.
“The regularisation order was passed in 2019 by the then state Cabinet, yet it remains unimplemented even after five years. We are left with no option but to resort to protest,” Malemnganbi said.
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According to the association, 603 individuals were appointed as contract lecturers in 2019. Subsequently, on January 8, 2022, the then State Cabinet took a unanimous decision to issue the service regularisation order under Order No. 40/1/2018-SE(S). The same order explicitly mentioned, “payment of the entitled pay and allowances of the Higher Secondary Lecturers w.e.f. April 1, 2023.”
The government order also stated that the regularisation was issued “in pursuance of the decision of the State Cabinet taken on April 1, 2022, with the concurrence of the Department of Personnel vide U.O. No. 96 (A)/2021-2022/DP dated 5/1/2022 and the Finance Department (PIC) vide U.O. No. 332/2021-2022/FD(PIC) dated 8/1/2022.”
Despite this formal approval, the lecturers claim the government has failed to implement the order in practice. Malemnganbi said the 603 lecturers have continued to serve in their respective positions, supporting the government’s efforts to improve the education sector, but without receiving a single month’s regular salary for the past three years.
“What’s more concerning,” she added, “is that many of the lecturers are currently residing in relief camps due to the ongoing unrest in the state, yet they continue to perform their duties. Tragically, three of our colleagues have already succumbed to illnesses without ever receiving their regularised pay.”
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Malemnganbi made a direct appeal to the government to implement the regularisation order without further delay. She warned that if the government fails to provide a written assurance within the strike period, the association will be compelled to intensify its agitation.
The lecturers have demanded immediate action from the state government to uphold the 2019 cabinet decision and regularise their services. The pen-down strike is set to begin this week and will continue for six days, during which the lecturers will abstain from all academic and administrative responsibilities across the state
(Newmai News Network)