Tenkasi, June 28 (IANS) Teachers working in private schools across Tenkasi district have appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to ensure they receive their rightful salaries, alleging that several school managements are manipulating payroll records by reporting inflated salaries to the authorities while paying teachers only a fraction of the declared amount.

The teachers have also sought the introduction of strict guidelines to regulate salary payments and prevent exploitation by private school managements.

Teachers from nursery, matriculation and CBSE schools across the district alleged that underpayment, excessive working hours and unfair employment practices were widespread.

They claimed that while the problem existed in many institutions, one private matriculation school in Pavoorchatram had adopted a particularly fraudulent method.

According to teachers, newly recruited staff are informed that their actual monthly salary will range between Rs 7,000 and Rs 12,000. However, on payday, the school credits around Rs 30,000 into their bank accounts before withdrawing the entire amount using pre-signed cheques obtained from the teachers when their accounts were opened at a private-sector bank. The teachers are then paid only the promised amount in cash.

Teachers alleged that the inflated salary entries were used to create records showing compliance with prescribed pay norms while denying employees their legitimate wages.

Similar complaints were raised against other private schools in the district.

A teacher from an Alangulam-based school said the management paid around Rs 8,000 in cash each month and did not even open bank accounts for employees.

Since teachers had no access to salary records submitted to the government, they remained unaware of the amounts officially shown as being paid to them.

Several teachers also described harsh working conditions, including workdays stretching up to 10 hours, minimal leave, salary deductions for even minor delays in reporting for duty and indirect pressure on women teachers to resign after marriage.

Many teachers admitted they were reluctant to lodge formal complaints for fear of losing their jobs.

When contacted, Tenkasi Chief Educational Officer Renuga said the School Education Department could not initiate action unless affected teachers submitted written complaints. She acknowledged that allegations of salary underpayment had been heard for years, but said no teacher had come forward with formal evidence earlier.

–IANS

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