HC to rescue of Kashmiri teachers; directs they be regularised

Coming to the aid of Kashmiri migrant teachers working in government and municipal schools here since 1994 on contract at substantially less pay and perks, the Delhi High Court has directed ensuring of pay parity and regularisation of their jobs within three months.
It directed the Delhi government and municipalities to regularise these migrant teachers within three months and ordered that they be given "emoluments and benefits which are paid and extended to regular employees falling in the same category" of Trained Graduate Teachers (TGTs) and Post Graduate Teachers (PGTs).
In its 53-page judgement, the court also held that "the petitioners claim for pay parity is legally valid" as "without doubt" they were performing "equal work of equal value".

Justice Rajiv Shakdher noted that the Kashmiri migrant teachers (KMTs) were recruited after their "mass exodus" from the Kashmir Valley in 1989 in the wake of terrorism there, but placed on contract "despite availabilty of sanctioned posts".
"Faced with the prospect of extreme impecuniosity, the petitioners (KMTs) accepted whatever came their way. Small mercies of God could not be declined. There were no alternatives given nor was there any scope for negotiations," the court said.
It noted that the KMTs worked for nearly two decades at one-third of the emoluments paid to their regularly employed counterparts, despite them being equally qualified.

"Each one of those who moved from the Valley believed that it was a temporary phase. They were made to believe that in not too distant point of time, they would return to their home and hearth. Alas! After nearly two and a half decades, this still seems a nebulous dream.
"The petitioners continue to offer their services which are identical, if not more, both in terms of quality and length (i.E., number of hours) to that of regular employees; albeit based on unequal recompense and conditions of service," the court said.