Himachal Pradesh teachers end strike, resume work

Bombay News.Net
Thursday 3rd July, 2008 (IANS)

Teaching work in more than 250 schools in Himachal Pradesh resumed Thursday after thousands of teachers, who were boycotting classes for the past 10 days, ended their strike.

The teachers went back to work after an agreement was reached with the government, which has accepted most of their demands.

While a majority of teachers joined duty, most schools saw low attendance as the students were not aware that the teachers' strike has been called off.

The 15,000 school teachers in the state had been demanding that a policy for governing their employment conditions and that their services be continued.

They were appointed by the previous Congress government. At that time, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was in the opposition, had raised questions over their appointments.

When the BJP came to power in the state this year, it started a probe into their appointments.

Shishupal Gazta, general secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Lecturers and Teachers Union, said the government had accepted most of their demands, including continuation of their services, release of the pending grant-in-aid and a fair inquiry, which would be done on the basis of the parameters laid down at the time of their appointment.

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