‘The FUTA strike is an amazing one’
Minister of Higher Education, S.B Dissanayake warns that if the striking university dons don’t return to work, he would seek the intervention of the labour commissioner to resolve this matter ‘once and for all.’
By Sanjaya Nallaperuma
What prompted you to open the universities that were shut down in the wake of the strike launched by FUTA?
It must be said at the outset that the majority of university lecturers never backed the strike launched by FUTA.
But FUTA, having sought the help of the Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) had been able to send the students home forcibly.
FUTA officials even disrupted the work of those lecturers who did not have any truck with them.
Due to this the university education crumbled as FUTA did not even allow those not participating in the strike to carry on with their work.
Eventually, I advised the vice chancellors of the universities to shut the universities down for a few days.
It was due to this reason that they were shut down. We have now reopened the universities and I am confident we will be able to resume lectures.
But as of now the FUTA strike is on-going and despite the reopening of universities what makes you think that lectures will commence, overnight?
The FUTA strike is an amazing one. We are doing our utmost to resolve these issues amicably and when it was suggested to take this issue before the labour commissioner it was the president who advised us not to do so. He said this is not a government that is beholden to its masters and therefore there is no necessity to take such issues to the labour commissioner.
But the president later advised us to do so if it will help to resolve this nagging issue. We also had talks with lecturers such as Charitha Herath and Dhamma Dissanayake.
It was with their input that the recent Cabinet paper was formulated. I have also signed this paper, and even though some other ministers were trying to change it, I opposed further changes.
FUTA members were present when it was drafted. They sought a discussion with the Treasury secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera and that too was facilitated. At that discussion, a 10-year plan was mooted.
We are now hopeful that they will dispense with this strike and restart university activities. If that is not going to be the case, then we will be forced to seek the intervention of the labour commissioner to resolve this matter once and for all.
FUTA has already threatened to pull out of marking the Advanced Level papers, and from the posts of faculty heads if the government were to seek the intervention of the labour commissioner. How do you hope to counter it?
We have answers to both those scenarios. There are more than enough lecturers who are ready to mark the answer scripts of Advanced Level students.
There are also ready-made cadres available to fill the posts of faculty heads. Therefore I foresee no undue issues in that regard.
You initially said that the universities were shut down in order to resolve the problem of the university lecturers. Have you now reopened universities due to the issues being resolved?
I am firmly of the view that the issues concerned have been resolved.
Does that mean the salary issue raised by FUTA will not be resolved?
We have already resolved the salary issue – more than what they bargained for (from us). We have also given them salary increments ranging from 33 per cent and going up to 83 per cent. Also, no other government since independence has granted salary hikes to university lecturers like this regime has done.
Therefore it is useless to waste time talking of further salary increments.
How would the lecturers’ salaries increase in keeping with the 10-year plan mooted by the Treasury secretary?
We have not even thought or considered it so far. They never sought a 6 per cent increase from the Treasury secretary.
We have sought to give them as much as Dr. Jayasundera can give. They only sought a sum of Rs6000 as a communication grant. If we are to condone such acts they could go on demanding grants at every turn. Our policy is to further upgrade not only the sphere of university education and bring it up to international standards but to improve the economic situation of lecturers as well.
It is obvious that the government has failed to address the issues raised by FUTA seriously. Why is it so?
They initially demanded that the government should set apart 6 per cent of the GDP for university education. But now they are quiet on that score.
They are only seeking a salary increase now. We have accepted their proposals through the Cabinet paper and it shows that we are receptive to their demands. But at this juncture it is difficult to set apart 6 per cent of the GDP as there are other important concerns for us than the education sector.
From the GDP the government’s revenue is 14.2 per cent. Of that, for the pensions, Samurdhi salaries and other areas the government has to incur a further 5.7 per cent, and to cover all other loans a further 6 per cent has to be set apart.
But the Cabinet paper has been silent on setting apart 6 per cent for the university education. How do you look at it?
The Cabinet paper is clear on upgrading the university sector in keeping with star class universities outside these shores. We are unable to allocate 6 per cent for university education overnight when our own revenue from the GDP is only 14 per cent. No doubt we have problems but we also have policies in place to sort out those problems.
If you are unable to allocate 6 per cent for the education sector, why don’t you say so officially?
FUTA has agreed that it is a difficult process. We have continued to increase the money allocated for the education sector in the country.
Only the UNP government of the past has not done such a thing on behalf of the lecturers. They only talk about the funds allocated for education by the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Education.
But they keep mum on similar allocation of funds for education by the Ministries of State Services, Social Services, Fisheries, Defence and Vocational Training. The presidential secretariat too allocates funds for the education sector. The provincial councils and the pradeshiya sabha’s also allocate funds.
But the question is why won’t you state so officially?
There is no need for such a thing. We will decide on the salary increments through the next budget. Those amounts need not be told to FUTA. We decide to increase the salaries of lecturers only after speaking with to vice chancellors and heads of faculties but they are best kept as secrets.
But FUTA has insisted that they will go ahead with their strike. How do you propose to end it?
They won’t be able to continue this strike for much longer. At the moment there are a large number of lecturers, who having spurned the strike are now ready to start giving lectures to students.
There are many of them who are getting away from the strike as they see a foreign hand behind the actions of FUTA.
This is nothing but a conspiracy being hatched by these foreign hands to destabilize the country’s education sector. Both the UNP and the JVP is well and truly behind this move.
There is a feeling that you are among the most failed of Higher Education ministers in the country. How do you answer this?
This allegation is not made by qualified lecturers or vice chancellors of the country. It is only made by Anurudhdha Pradeep of the JHU who is acting like a lecturer.
He is holding onto some bogus doctorates but I do not need to waste time to answer such people who are not even worth their salt.
What prompted you to open the universities that were shut down in the wake of the strike launched by FUTA?
It must be said at the outset that the majority of university lecturers never backed the strike launched by FUTA.
But FUTA, having sought the help of the Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) had been able to send the students home forcibly.
FUTA officials even disrupted the work of those lecturers who did not have any truck with them.
Due to this the university education crumbled as FUTA did not even allow those not participating in the strike to carry on with their work.
Eventually, I advised the vice chancellors of the universities to shut the universities down for a few days.
It was due to this reason that they were shut down. We have now reopened the universities and I am confident we will be able to resume lectures.
But as of now the FUTA strike is on-going and despite the reopening of universities what makes you think that lectures will commence, overnight?
The FUTA strike is an amazing one. We are doing our utmost to resolve these issues amicably and when it was suggested to take this issue before the labour commissioner it was the president who advised us not to do so. He said this is not a government that is beholden to its masters and therefore there is no necessity to take such issues to the labour commissioner.
But the president later advised us to do so if it will help to resolve this nagging issue. We also had talks with lecturers such as Charitha Herath and Dhamma Dissanayake.
It was with their input that the recent Cabinet paper was formulated. I have also signed this paper, and even though some other ministers were trying to change it, I opposed further changes.
FUTA members were present when it was drafted. They sought a discussion with the Treasury secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera and that too was facilitated. At that discussion, a 10-year plan was mooted.
We are now hopeful that they will dispense with this strike and restart university activities. If that is not going to be the case, then we will be forced to seek the intervention of the labour commissioner to resolve this matter once and for all.
FUTA has already threatened to pull out of marking the Advanced Level papers, and from the posts of faculty heads if the government were to seek the intervention of the labour commissioner. How do you hope to counter it?
We have answers to both those scenarios. There are more than enough lecturers who are ready to mark the answer scripts of Advanced Level students.
There are also ready-made cadres available to fill the posts of faculty heads. Therefore I foresee no undue issues in that regard.
You initially said that the universities were shut down in order to resolve the problem of the university lecturers. Have you now reopened universities due to the issues being resolved?
I am firmly of the view that the issues concerned have been resolved.
Does that mean the salary issue raised by FUTA will not be resolved?
We have already resolved the salary issue – more than what they bargained for (from us). We have also given them salary increments ranging from 33 per cent and going up to 83 per cent. Also, no other government since independence has granted salary hikes to university lecturers like this regime has done.
Therefore it is useless to waste time talking of further salary increments.
How would the lecturers’ salaries increase in keeping with the 10-year plan mooted by the Treasury secretary?
We have not even thought or considered it so far. They never sought a 6 per cent increase from the Treasury secretary.
We have sought to give them as much as Dr. Jayasundera can give. They only sought a sum of Rs6000 as a communication grant. If we are to condone such acts they could go on demanding grants at every turn. Our policy is to further upgrade not only the sphere of university education and bring it up to international standards but to improve the economic situation of lecturers as well.
It is obvious that the government has failed to address the issues raised by FUTA seriously. Why is it so?
They initially demanded that the government should set apart 6 per cent of the GDP for university education. But now they are quiet on that score.
They are only seeking a salary increase now. We have accepted their proposals through the Cabinet paper and it shows that we are receptive to their demands. But at this juncture it is difficult to set apart 6 per cent of the GDP as there are other important concerns for us than the education sector.
From the GDP the government’s revenue is 14.2 per cent. Of that, for the pensions, Samurdhi salaries and other areas the government has to incur a further 5.7 per cent, and to cover all other loans a further 6 per cent has to be set apart.
But the Cabinet paper has been silent on setting apart 6 per cent for the university education. How do you look at it?
The Cabinet paper is clear on upgrading the university sector in keeping with star class universities outside these shores. We are unable to allocate 6 per cent for university education overnight when our own revenue from the GDP is only 14 per cent. No doubt we have problems but we also have policies in place to sort out those problems.
If you are unable to allocate 6 per cent for the education sector, why don’t you say so officially?
FUTA has agreed that it is a difficult process. We have continued to increase the money allocated for the education sector in the country.
Only the UNP government of the past has not done such a thing on behalf of the lecturers. They only talk about the funds allocated for education by the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Education.
But they keep mum on similar allocation of funds for education by the Ministries of State Services, Social Services, Fisheries, Defence and Vocational Training. The presidential secretariat too allocates funds for the education sector. The provincial councils and the pradeshiya sabha’s also allocate funds.
But the question is why won’t you state so officially?
There is no need for such a thing. We will decide on the salary increments through the next budget. Those amounts need not be told to FUTA. We decide to increase the salaries of lecturers only after speaking with to vice chancellors and heads of faculties but they are best kept as secrets.
But FUTA has insisted that they will go ahead with their strike. How do you propose to end it?
They won’t be able to continue this strike for much longer. At the moment there are a large number of lecturers, who having spurned the strike are now ready to start giving lectures to students.
There are many of them who are getting away from the strike as they see a foreign hand behind the actions of FUTA.
This is nothing but a conspiracy being hatched by these foreign hands to destabilize the country’s education sector. Both the UNP and the JVP is well and truly behind this move.
There is a feeling that you are among the most failed of Higher Education ministers in the country. How do you answer this?
This allegation is not made by qualified lecturers or vice chancellors of the country. It is only made by Anurudhdha Pradeep of the JHU who is acting like a lecturer.
He is holding onto some bogus doctorates but I do not need to waste time to answer such people who are not even worth their salt.
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