Good intentions: Teachers union weary of delay in talks with govt

‘There seem to be differences that are not allowing talks to happen’.

LAHORE:

Representatives of the Punjab Teachers’ Union expressed reservations to The Express Tribune this week over delays in the resolution of their issues, two months after the Punjab government set up a committee to deliberate over teachers’ concerns.

The committee was formed by Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan in April following a series of protests staged by the teachers’ union in the province. Teachers’ rationalisation policy aims to accommodate them on a need basis in various districts and assign non academic duties. The PTU has protested this policy arguing that mostly PTU members were being transferred, and that there was no transport being provided for teachers who had to commute. The School Education Department also issued a notification to DCOs, EDOs and DMOs in April admitting that there had been violations of the reallocation policy and complaints had been registered.

Syed Sajjad Akbar Kazmi , Punjab Teachers’ Union president and a member of the four-person committee formed on April 9 through a School Education Department notification, said “despite efforts to sit down and resolve issues, there seem to be differences that have not allowed the talks to take place,” he said.

Kazmi said the minister had said that the committee’s recommendations should be presented to the SED on April 24. The committee, however, only convened one meeting, at which the PTU’s charter of demand was submitted but in depth discussion did not take place. The SED claimed no such deadline had been given.

A sit-in was then staged outside the Punjab Assembly on May 8. “It was called off following assurances by education department officials,” PTU general secretary Rana Liaqat Ali said.

Additional secretary general Ahmed Ali Kamboh, a   committee member, had played a key role in negotiating with the teachers. He said in May a timeframe could not be given for the resolution of teachers’ issues.

On June 3, Ali said they were still waiting for the ‘talks’ to turn into something meaningful. “If the meetings are being held for the sake of appearances, then the purpose is being served. Other than that, there has been no progress.” Ali said the government rarely fulfilled its promises. “There is no point bringing another deadline to the table when previous deadlines have not been respected”, he said.

The PTU has claimed that 15 of its union members in Lahore have been victimised since April. “They have been relocated to far flung areas over the past two months because of their association with the PTU,” Kazmi said.

The PTU has held meetings with officials at the SED. Kazmi said the union was open to argue the legitimacy of their demands if the department felt they were unjust. He said that the department had expressed ‘concern’ but, it needed to show it in its action. “The intention may be there, but the intention alone is not going to resolve anything”.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2014.