Monday, January 21, 2013

Non-academics on warpath again

, the island

University non-academics are back on the warpath as the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Salaries and Cadre Commission (NSCC) have failed to issue the circulars rectifying the anomalies in their salaries.

Spokesman for the Inter University Trade Union Joint Committee Wijayathilaka Jayasinghe told The Island that their executive committee would meet this week to decide their future course of action.

He said that when they struck in May 2012 the university authorities promised to issue the relevant circulars, but six months have passed and they have still not been issued.

"The UGC and NSCC did not accept our proposal to rectify the salary anomalies, but they promised a structure made by them," Jayasinghe said adding that now they were refusing to honour their promise.

He said that they were ready to discuss the issue with any government official, but did not get an appointment.

University non-academic staff, including administrative officers, have been agitating for several years demanding rectification of salary anomalies but had been cheated by successive governments, Jayasinghe said.

The Island made several attempts to contact Higher Education Ministry Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne for comment, but they were of no avail.