FUTA to notify SB on resumption of trade union action next week

November 24, 2011, 10:16 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe

University teachers, who earlier suspended their trade union action on the promise given by the government, yesterday decided to resume it as 2012 budget failed to fulfill the pledge.

The Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) would inform its decision to the Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake next week.

FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri told a media conference that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had broken the promise he gave them at a Temple Trees meeting in July.

"When we took the warpath to win our dues, President Rajapaksa promised to provide a solution through the 2012 budget," he said.

Dr. Devasiri said that when they submitted an interim proposal to solve the problem, president Rajapaksa explained that it was difficult to allocate funds to solve the problem without a budget and the 2012 budget would solve the problem.

But, the budget totally neglected the issue and university teachers felt cheated by the President, he said.

University teachers resorted to trade union action to pressure the government to rectify their salary anomalies, with a token strike on March 15, 2011. They resigned from university administrative duties on May 09 to further press their case. However, they suspended the trade union action in July on the government’s promise to rectify matter.

Dr. Devasiri said that their executive committee that met yesterday at the Open University of Sri Lanka unanimously decided to resume the suspended trade union action.

"However, we would not rush to resume trade union action as it would disturb academic activities," he said.

The senior academic said that they would first make the general public as well as their sister unions countrywide aware on the issue during December.