With Schools Shut & No Salary For Two Months, Delhi Teacher Forced To Sell Vegetables

Left with no income during the lockdown, a Delhi-based school teacher has been forced to sell vegetables to sustain his family. The contractual teacher of a Delhi school has allegedly not been paid for almost the past two months.

Wazir Singh, an English teacher in Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya has been selling the vegetables in the respite of the financial crisis he has been facing after the schools shut down due to COVID-19 lockdown and with no income since May 8.

Singh told news agency ANI, "After the Delhi government's order for the contractual teacher to pay us till May 8, I am unemployed. I was forced to sell the vegetables even after they assured us of our jobs."

According to the Delhi government, all the guest teachers shall be paid up to May 8, 2020, and in summer vacations only if they are called for duties," read the order dated May 5.

Delhi: Wazir Singh, a contractual English teacher at Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya has been selling vegetables to make ends meet as schools are closed due to #COVID19. He says, "I was working as a guest English teacher, we have not been paid since 8th May. This is humiliating". (23.06) pic.twitter.com/KtPK0d9l3X

¡ª ANI (@ANI) June 23, 2020

Whereas, in a tweet earlier by AAP, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that Delhi government would pay salaries to daily wage staff, guest teachers working at COVID-19 affected areas.

In a family of six, Singh, who has a Master's and B.Ed degrees in English is the sole bread earner. His parents are suffering from some ailment while his siblings are unemployed. He was forced to resort to selling food to ensure he could provide for his family.

Although the pandemic has left many unemployed, Singh said, "If we look at the Disaster Management Act, the employer can not expel the employee during a disaster and as we are facing this giant pandemic, I am experiencing the same."

"We are called for work and expelled from the same from time to time. Whenever there is new recruitment, transfer, or promotion, we are relieved from our duties. Every day, we live with the fear of losing our jobs. In a way, it is very humiliating," Singh said.

"The contractual teachers are paid only for working days. A lecturer is paid Rs 1,445 per day whereas a TGT is paid 1,403 per day," he added.

He has urged the government that the jobs must be secured and the policy must be revised.

"They can reduce our salaries to Rs 15,000 but we need a secure job and not live with the fear of losing our jobs during promotions, transfers and new recruitments," he added.