Sun Dec 28 17:24:04 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the provided text and a rewritten version as a news article:

Summary:

Secondary grade teachers in Chennai, members of the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers’ Association (SSTA), were forcibly removed by police from a protest site at the Chennai Collectorate on Sunday, December 28, 2025. Over 1,000 teachers were detained as they protested for a third day, demanding equal pay for equal work. The core issue is a pay disparity where teachers appointed before June 1, 2009, receive a higher basic pay than those appointed after. The teachers are urging the government, specifically Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s DMK party, to fulfill its 2018 promise and its election manifesto pledge to rectify this pay anomaly.
They emphasized the government was now turning a blind eye to their demands. The teachers are planning to continue protesting until their demands are met.

News Article:

Chennai Teachers Detained as Equal Pay Protest Intensifies

Chennai, India – December 28, 2025 – Police in Chennai detained over 1,000 secondary grade teachers on Sunday as their protest for equal pay entered its third day. The teachers, members of the Secondary Grade Seniority Teachers’ Association (SSTA), were removed from their demonstration site at the Chennai Collectorate in George Town.

The protesting teachers are demanding the government address a long-standing pay disparity affecting those appointed after June 1, 2009. This group receives significantly lower basic pay compared to colleagues hired before that date, despite performing the same work.

“The protests will continue until our demand is met,” stated a teacher from Thanjavur. “We have waited long enough, but only talks have taken place. We want it resolved.”

The teachers highlighted that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and his DMK party had previously voiced support for their cause. They pointed to the DMK’s 2018 statements and promises made in their election manifesto to rectify the pay anomaly, which originated during a previous DMK administration in 2009. “The DMK had promised in its poll manifesto to rectify the pay anomaly that began during its tenure in 2009. We want it fulfilled,” a teacher from Theni said.

Following their removal from the Collectorate, the detained teachers were held in various halls across the city. The SSTA has vowed to continue their protest efforts until the government takes concrete action to address the pay inequity.

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