CHENNAI: Talks between protesting Secondary Grade Teachers (SGTs) and senior officials of the School Education Department failed to yield any breakthrough on Monday, prompting the teachers to renew their agitation demanding “equal pay for equal work.”

The meeting, held in the city on Monday afternoon, was attended by School Education Department director Kannappan and Director of Elementary Education Naresh.

Though discussions stretched for over two hours and explored various options, the teachers insisted on immediate fulfilment of their long-pending demand, association members said.

The protest, led by the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers’ Association (SSTA), has been underway for nearly two weeks. The teachers reiterated that they would not call off the agitation until the pay disparity issue is resolved.

According to the association, the demand arose from a pay difference of Rs 3,170 faced by teachers appointed after June 2009, despite performing the same duties as those appointed on or before May 31, 2009. The gap, they claimed, widened further following the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission in December 2022.

The teachers also recalled that in 2023, the Chief Minister had constituted a three-member committee comprising the Principal Secretaries of Finance and School Education and the Director of Elementary Education to examine the issue. However, the committee has so far failed to provide a resolution, they alleged.