CPIML General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya wrote to Bihar Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar on 13 April 2020 with reference to the teachers’ strike. In the letter he has urged the Chief Minister to hold talks with the delegates of the striking teachers and end the impasse.
In his letter Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya said that lakhs of primary and middle school teachers in Bihar have been on strike for a long period. The ‘No Work No Pay’ policy of the government towards the striking teachers has resulted in the death of many teachers so far. The families of the teachers are on the brink of starvation and various other problems are also staring them in the face.
Today when the entire country is facing extremely difficult conditions due to COVID-19 and the lockdown, the need of the hour is to ensure that all of us walk together. We will be able to overcome this crisis only when all of us unite and combat it together. Any sort of obstruction or impasse will serve only to damage the efforts to come out of this crisis.
The Chief Minister of Bihar should without delay organize talks with the striking teachers and listen to their legitimate demands and ensure that until the situation becomes normal they should get last month’s salary in addition to this month’s salary. Punitive actions against the teachers should be revoked and the compensation amount announced for the families of the deceased teachers should be made available immediately.
