Amid a deepening financial crisis triggered by the non-release of the Punjab Government’s monthly grant-in-aid, the Non-Teaching Employees Union of the Punjabi University on Tuesday locked the institution’s main entrance gates in protest against delayed salaries and pending promotion cases, disrupting normal movement on the campus causing inconvenience to the students, teachers and employees.
A large number of employees assembled at the university’s main gate in the morning and staged a protest. They locked both main entry gates, leaving several students, faculty members and employees stranded inside and outside the campus. There were also reports of heated exchange of words between protesters and people seeking access through the gates. However, the situation remained peaceful.
Union activist Gurjeet Singh Gopalpuri said employees had not received their salaries for May even as June was drawing to an end. He alleged that salary delay had made it difficult for them to meet household expenses, pay their children’s school and college fees and clear bank loan instalments.
The protesters also raised the issue of long-pending promotions and other service-related demands. They warned that the agitation would be intensified if the university administration failed to release the pending salaries and address employees’ grievances.
During the protest, employees raised slogans against the VC and other senior university officials, accusing them of ignoring their concerns. More than 4,500 university employees, including both teaching and non-teaching staff, are yet to receive their salaries for the month of May since the Punjab Government has not released the monthly grant-in-aid of Rs 30 crore. The university requires around Rs 32 crore every month to meet its salary obligations.
Moreover, the university has been grappling with a severe financial crisis for several years and was reportedly burdened with a debt of nearly Rs 400 crore.
