Contractual staffers take a 'break', leave Mumbai University paralysed

The available Mumbai University staff failed to resolve the grievances of students

Mumbai University was left completely paralysed on Monday when more than 1,000 contractual employees of the institute decided to take a break, as their contracts had officially come to an end. However, this was not the only reason why they were away from the campus. After being on contract for years, they finally decided to protest against their state of employment, which not only lacks transparency, but also reveals a dangerous trend.

The varsity depends hugely on the contractual employees, who are hired on extremely low wages. With most of the office chambers vacant on Monday, the available staff failed to resolve the grievances of students who had queued up outside their offices.

Supriya Karande, MU senate member and Yuva Sena activist, said, "The varsity has over 1,000 contractual employees. They are hired for six months to one year. After their contracts end, they are shown on a break for two to three days, so that they can be hired again on fresh contracts. This has been going on for several years, without any increase in their salaries. Sometimes they are made to work even during the break. It's high-time that the university administration and state government pays heed to the issue."

Also read: Mumbai University to launch mobile app that acts as students' PA

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