No talks till non-academics stop strike - SB
June 7, 2012, 12:00 pm , the island
by Dasun Edirisinghe
Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake yesterday ruled out any discussion with university non-academic staff while they were on strike. If they wanted a discussion with ministry officials they had to stop the strike and report back to work, he said.
Addressing a media conference at the Higher Education Ministry auditorium, he said that the ministry was ready to have a discussion with all stakeholders including officials from National Salaries and Cadre Commission (NSCC), Finance Ministry and the University Grants Commission with a view to settling the dispute.
Demanding immediate rectification of salary anomalies, university non-academics, including administrative officers, commenced a strike on Wednesday, paralysing universities.
The strike enters the third day today.
Minister Dissanayake said that his ministry was helpless as regards the rectification of salary anomalies.
"We can’t increase salaries or rectify anomalies," he said, adding that it was the NSCC and the Finance Ministry which could do so.
UGC Chairman Prof. Gamini Samaranayake said that anyone could launch strikes, but they would not be paid for the days they had not worked on.
"It is not our decision, but an ILO rule," he said, adding that if they did not work, the government would not pay them as they were receiving their salaries from public funds.
Prof. Samaranayake alleged that there was a politically motivated section in the non-academic trade unions responsible for the strike. "This is the exam time for the final year students in most of universities and the non-academic staff timed their trade union action for the exams,’ Prof. Samaranayake said.
President of the Inter University Trade Union Federation R. M. Chandrapala said that they had been cheated several times by authorities but this time around they would not stop the strike until their demands were met.
"We are ready to discuss with officials while on strike," he said.
