While the University of Mumbai had announced a mid-term Ganesh Utsav break for colleges across the city, as many as five teachers from the aided section of Kandivli’s Thakur College of Science & Commerce have reported a one-day pay cut in their salaries, claiming that the college remained functional on August 28, a day after the Ganesh festival commenced.
According to the teachers, who were travelling to their hometown during the break, they simply chose to opt for paid leave instead, but found that the college had registered it under ‘leave without pay’. “The college remained functional only for cultural activities and practicals on that day. Moreover, the absent teachers ensured that their teaching workload was adjusted on the day they remained absent,” a source told mid-day. “A lot of the teachers hail from far-off places in Maharashtra, and these breaks become a good chance for them to visit their parents in their hometown,” the source continued.
Representing their cause, Maharashtra Union of Secular Teachers (MUST) sent a letter to the college, asking it to take cognisance of the matter. “Forcing teachers to attend work on public holidays or deducting their salaries for absenteeism constitutes unfair labour practices. Such illegal practices have created deep dissatisfaction and anger among the teaching profession,” the letter stated. The union has demanded a prompt refund and a written guarantee stating that such illegal and arbitrary action will not be repeated in the future. “The teachers’ one-day salary doesn’t come out of the management’s pocket since it is the aided section. Deducting salaries arbitrarily sets a precedent, despite the teachers’ hard work that goes on all year round,” a teacher from the college told mid-day.
These events took place on the second day of Ganesh Utsav, when the college, like every year, had planned its own Ganapati celebrations. According to a response shared by the college to the union, the presence of teaching staff during such events is mandated purely for the purpose of maintaining order, ensuring safety, and crowd control. The action was a necessary precaution, particularly given the large number of students who traditionally participate in such events. The involvement of the teachers was not a religious mandate but a crucial administrative and security function to prevent any untoward incident, such as a potential stampede, which could have occurred in an unsupervised gathering.
When mid-day contacted Thakur College for comment, representatives said, “Several other teachers who celebrate the festival asked for leave for that day, and it was sanctioned accordingly. The five teachers in question staged a mass bunk, and the management is looking into the matter accordingly.”
