FUTA Executive Committee too says no to arbitration

September 11, 2012, 9:56 pm 

by Dasun Edirisinghe,The Island

The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) yesterday decided not to go for arbitration offered by the Labour Department to solve their demands.

FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri told ‘The Island’ that their executive committee took the decision when they met at the Open University of Sri Lanka.

"We are ready to face any difficulty over refusing arbitration," he said.

Dr. Dewasiri said that officials of the Open University did not allow them to enter the premises for the meeting, but they finally entered the university by force.

The senior academic said that they would instead opt for compulsory arbitration, but they would not give up the strike.

FUTA launched a continuous strike on July 04 demanding allocation 6% of the GDP to education, they be consulted when taking decisions on higher education and a pay hike.

Several discussions with the government failed to bring about a settlement during the last two months.