HP High Court Rejects Polytechnic Teachers’ Plea for Punjab-Like Four-Tier Pay Scale
Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh High Court has dismissed a petition filed by government polytechnic teachers seeking the implementation of a four-tier pay scale similar to that of Punjab. Justice Satyen Vaidya ruled that the Himachal government is not bound to adopt Punjab's pay structure and has the autonomy to determine salaries for its employees.
The court rejected the petitioners' claim that they have a legal right to be paid on par with their counterparts in Punjab. The Polytechnic Teachers' Association had urged the court to either implement pay as per the AICTE recommendations or at least provide salaries equivalent to those in Punjab. They also sought to quash the government’s decision dated August 20, 2013, which denied them the four-tier pay structure.
The petitioners alleged discrimination, arguing that other services like the Forest Department had been granted benefits on the lines of Punjab, but polytechnic teachers were excluded.
In response, the state government argued that while it may consider Punjab’s pay patterns, it is under no obligation to implement them. It said salary decisions are based on factors like financial resources, geographical conditions, and service rules. The issue of the four-tier scale was placed before the Cabinet, which decided against it, citing increased financial burden and a potential disruption in the service hierarchy — as teachers with nine years of service would start earning more than deputy commissioners.
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