The many similarities between two teachers’ strikes

Chennai witnessed major teacher strikes in 1985 and 2003, leading to shutdowns and court interventions for resolution.

In the last 50 years, Chennai has witnessed two major strikes by teachers. On both occasions, students suffered and educational institutions were shut down for several weeks, and it took court verdicts on both occasions to restore normalcy.

Both agitations also began in July. The strike in 1985 gathered steam and reached its peak in November but the 2003 agitation was resolved within a month. V. Annamalai, a member of the All India Federation of Elementary Teachers’ Organisation, who was part of the 1985 protest, recalled that the teachers fervently participated in it. At least four teachers died during the protests which lasted for months. The Hindu recorded the death of one protester in jail.

In July 1985, a group of elementary school teachers struck work for six days over grievances in the implementation of the 4th Pay Commission recommendations. The next week, secondary school teachers joined the protest. They declared that September 5, celebrated nationally as Teacher’s Day, would be a ‘Mourning Day’ in the State. Government college teachers followed up with a token strike a day later. Teachers struck work for two days again. On September 18, teachers’ organisations demanded that the government redress their grievances.

The support of Opposition parties fuelled the protest. On November 3, teachers set fire to a Government Order on pay commission recommendations and implementation, which escalated, leading to the arrest of several teachers.

The teachers’ charter of demands included 60 items such as bonus, medical allowance, leave travel facility, abolition of professional tax, central rates of dearness allowance (DA), incentive allowance and house rent allowance in villages, increase in the number of earned leave, separate pay scales for primary school heads, and loans for housing and children’s education. The charter wanted the government to withdraw its order and treat the absence of the striking teachers as leave without pay.

The State government pointed out that the teachers had not shown commitment to accountability. The protest continued to escalate, and by November 21, demonstrations erupted in many districts. The Opposition assured support to the protesters. On November 22, when teachers demonstrated in front of the Secretariat in the city, 227 teachers, including 14 women, were arrested.

The next day, sloganeering protesters with placards took out a procession from Anna Statue on Anna Salai, urging the government to redress the grievances at the earliest. “The procession was headed by a couple with an infant in their arms. They were followed by a lengthy vanguard of women. At the end of the procession, the demonstrators squatted on the road and on the pavement outside Ezhilagam,” a report in The Hindu stated.