CMU donates Rs. 500,000 to FUTA

October 4, 2012, 7:01 am , The Island

by Dasun Edirisinghe

The Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) donated Rs. 500,000 to the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) which is currently on a continuous strike.

FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri said that CMU General Secretary Bala Tampoe had handed over the cheque yesterday.

"We formed a fund called FUTA activity and Welfare Fund to assist our members," he said.

Dr. Devasiri said that FUTA members could obtain loans from the fund as they had not been paid for last three months due to the strike.

He said that several people had donated money to the fund so far and FUTA was seeking more funds for their future course of action.

University teachers launched a continuous strike three months ago and government has not paid their salaries since then.