Patna : Hundreds of guest instructors at Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) from different parts of the state blocked Bailey Road for an hour and staged a protest outside Niyojan Bhawan on Monday, following their removal from services. The state government has cancelled the recruitment of guest instructors in ITIs, claiming that the labour resources department has found discrepancies in the process of recruitment.
One of the agitators, on the condition of anonymity, said, “We are going through emotional trauma. They cannot kick us out of our jobs like this. We were hired one and a half year ago after taking an exam, several rounds of interviews and demonstration. Why has the government found discrepancies now?”
According to sources, the guest instructors were given jobs by the department in December, 2016 and got sacked on May 11.
“We had no other option, but to stage a protest. Despite our tireless efforts to meet the labour resources minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, we could not. He was not ready to hear our woes. We will continue our demonstration unless the state government gives back our jobs,” another demonstrator Bikash Yadav said.
According to protester Rupesh Kumar, “Our livelihood is being threatened. Our families are suffering. We have not been paid for six months and now the department has kicked us out after making false statements. We want our jobs to be regularized.”
Later, a police team along with DSP (law and order) Shibli Nomani reached the spot and tried to pacify the protesters.
Principal secretary Dipak Kumar Singh told that the guest instructors were assigned classes as and when needed. “They have not been recruited. So, there is no question of removing them from service. They were paid on the basis of classes or lectures they took,” Singh said, adding the department had prepared a new online system for allotting lectures to guest instructors.
Note: News shared for public awareness with reference from the information provided at online news portals.
