University non-academics suspend strike after ministry assurance

March 1, 2012, 10:42 pm , The Island.

by Dasun Edirisinghe

University non-academic staff yesterday suspended their strike action, demanding immediate rectification of their salary anomalies, following an assurance from the Higher Education Ministry that it would be resolved within three weeks.

Ministry authorities also promised the top members of the Inter University Trade Union Federation that the arrears caused by the anomalies too would be paid to the non-academic staff with their April salary.

IUTUF President R. M. Chandrapala told The Island that they put off their trade union action for three weeks on the assurances given by the ministry officials. "We believe the ministry authorities would keep their promises and issue relevant circulars immediately. If no action is taken within the stipulated time to grant solutions to our grievances, we will resume the strike," he said.

Chandrapala said that Higher Education Ministry’s Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne gave the assurance around midnight Wednesday.

The entire university system was paralyzed for two days (Tuesday and Wednesday) due to the strike of the non-academic staff. The IUTUF executive committee met yesterday morning and decided to resume work from noon yesterday.