MADURAI: Staff members working in the Women’s Studies Centre in Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) here are going on a hunger strike on January 28th 2025 in the university campus demanding for their immediate disbursal of six months salary not paid to them.
“The Women’s Studies Centre in MKU was started in the year 2009 under the UGC-XI Plan and teaching faculty members were appointed by the university as per UGC norms. But, the Women’s Studies Centre faculty staff had not received their monthly salary for the last six months from July 2024 and the Establishment Section of MKU had not taken up their pay bill at all for past six months. We are demanding the Madurai Kamaraj University to pay and immediately disburse our salary from the university account and to highlight this genuine demand, all the staff members of Women’s Studies Centre will go on a hunger strike on January 28th 2025 in the university premises,” a notice signed and issued by Dr.R.Radhika Devi, K.Priyadarshini, Dr.C.SubbuLakshmi, S.Jamuna Rani and N.Priya has infored today.
This WSC was established in this university in 2009 during the XI Plan period, teaching faculty were appointed by MKU in August 2013 as per the guidelines of UGC. “From January 2014, the WSC has received advance for disbursement of salary and it was put under audit objection for the last 10 years from 2014 to 2024. When the audit objections were cleared, the Women’s Studies Centre of MKU was instructed by the UGC not to take advance for salary from the university as the amount will be sent to the Registrar account of MKU by the UGC every year. We have made our salary request to the MKU authorities on August 30th 2024, December 24th 2024 and also on January 21st 2025 to disbuse our salary and to include our Women’s Studies Centre staff salary in the University Account No.1 on par with other university staff. But, the Finance Office of MKU Mr.I.Anandhan is harassing the woman staff of WSC by insisting us to get advance for disbursement of our salary. It is pending for six months and livelihood of Women’s Studies Centre staff is affected due to agony and struggle. So, we are going on hunger strike from January 28th 2025 in MKU campus,” the press statement of Women’s Studies Centre of MKU has said today.
The Women’s Studies Centre was established in MKU to undertaken women welfare activities through seminars, conferences, extension activities, workshops and research projects but all these got badly affected now and MoUs for women’s empowerment programs too are not being allowed now by MKU authorities and staff, the press statement added.
