IIM faculty may take cue from IIT stir

More than a week after the faculty of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) went on a mass casual level to press their demand for pay parity under the Sixth Pay Commission, the Indian Institutes of Management faculty have decided to follow suit.

IIM-A, which is leading the move, has formed a three-member committee to highlight the pay commission recommendations. The main issue they want addressed is percentage of salary increase for IIM faculty, which, they point out, has been less than that granted to their counterparts in other government agencies. They claim that the premium in the pay scales enjoyed by IITs and IIMs has eroded considerably following the last pay revision.

The effort by the faculty, which will expand to cover other IIMs, will be to build a case for making a representation before the Union HRD ministry. However, the committee's report will be circulated and discussed among the faculty members before any action is taken to involve other IIMs.

According to a faculty member, the IIM faculty has been following developments in IITs and is in touch with the protesting members there. He added that they may not follow the IITs and go on mass casual leave, but, given the fact that the issue is the same, they may take a cue from the IITs though their tone may not be as strident.

Meanwhile, HRD minister Kapil Sibal's meeting with IIT directors on Wednesday seems to have settled the issue that had led to a strike by IIT faculty, including that of IIT Bombay. A detailed presentation that brought out the fact that the IIT faculty post revision has gained more than the UGC scale, exceeding what even DRDO scientists have received, seems to have clinched the issue. Sibal said some other issues that remain would be resolved soon.

According to IIT-Guwahati director Gautam Barua, the discussion with the minister regarding the pay scales had been 'very positive'. He said the ministry promised to look into the apprehensions that faculty members had regarding the revised scales.