IIT-M faculty to boycott classes from today

Aggrieved by differential pay scales and non-implementation of the Sixth Central Pay Commission recommendations, the faculty of IIT-Madras will boycott classes indefinitely from tomorrow.

“We have decided to stop taking classes from tomorrow as our earlier protests of taking classes wearing black badges had not paid off,” M Thenmozhi, president, IIT-M Faculty Association, said here today.

She claimed the faculty at IIT-Kharagpur and IIT-Rourkee would also go into protest mode, with the former expected to go on “mass casual leave” tomorrow and keeping off mentoring activities.

Thenmozhi said the scales of pay were not “as expected” and an Assistant Professor in the institution was drawing lesser pay than their counterpart in an Arts and Science college.

“We have been forced to think it would be better to work in other colleges,” she said.

In a bid to strengthen their cause, the faculty association would request Directors, Deans and Hostel wardens of the prestigious institution to “resign their administrative posts” and return as faculty, Thenmozhi said.

“We have made a number of representations, requests and presented memoranda to government but with no result,” she said adding they staged a “silent protest” in the campus today.

Earlier, around 450 faculty members had staged a nine-day protest from August 6-14 by wearing black badges demanding that the Centre act immediately on their repeated requests for implementing Sixth Pay Commission scales.