After more than two months of intense struggle what has FUTA achieved? Seven demands were put forward in the FUTA interim proposal that was submitted to the Ministry of Higher Education on 07/07/2011. Except for removing UGC circular 956 (which should have been removed by default!!) none of the other demands have been met. UGC circular 955 has not been removed, which took out a privilege that we already had. Even the interim salary proposal has been compromised.
FUTA has only managed to secure a salary cap of 101,000 for the senior most Professor who constitute only less than 1% of the total academics (less than 50 Senior Professors out of a total of 5000). This salary cap of Rs. 101,000 for a Senior Professor translates proportionately to only a meager Rs. 68000 for a senior lecturer and Rs. 44000 for a Lecturer Probationary at recruitment. This pittance is grossly inadequate to effectively address the issues of recruitment and retention of quality academics in the University system.
From the inception, academics had been of the clear stand that the Research and Development (R&D) allowance that was given through the last budget (Budget 2011) was not acceptable as a salary increase since there were conditions attached to it. Academics were under the impression that FUTA would not compromise on removing the conditions attached to this 25% R&D allowance. This is clear from the FUTA interim proposal that was submitted to the Ministry of Higher Education on 07/07/2011. By agreeing to the conditions attached to the 25% R&D allowance in effect what FUTA has achieved is a division among academics along salary lines: those who would get 25% more and those who would get 25% less. Furthermore this has also paved way to political interference at every level of academics signaling the death of University autonomy.
Throughout the trade union action, the strength of the academics was clear.
Their conviction was clear. Who compromised this strength and conviction?
What happened? Have we been betrayed?
However, the fact that the government, by its mishandling the issue, has alienated the learned of the land is clear. The repercussions of this yet
remains to be seen.
