University dons lose pay for 100 days
November 21, 2012, 10:45 pm
, the island
by Dasun Edirisinghe
The University Grants
Commission (UGC) yesterday declared that Circular 890 of 7th June,
2007, which stipulates that workers are not entitled to salaries during
their strikes couldn’t be rescinded under any circumstances.
A
senior UGC official was responding to the Federation of University
Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) demand that circular in question be
repealed in keeping with the agreement university teachers had entered
into with Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa.
The FUTA is pushing for the removal of eight circulars.
The official told The Island
that of them, three would be rescinded shortly, whereas two could only
be amended. According to him, a decision couldn’t be taken on the
remaining two circulars without consulting the Labour Commissioner and
the Treasury.
Having suspended its 100-day-long strike, the
FUTA warned that the government would have to face the consequences in
case of its failure to honour its promises. The UGC said that a
committee had inquired into the FUTA’s demands and examined the issues
at hand closely before a decision was taken not to do away with
Circular 890 of 7th June, 2007.
The UGC is of the view that
there is no reason to rescind the circular No. 890 which dealt with
trade union action. According to the circular, employees would not be
paid for the days they were on strike.
A senior UGC official
pointed out that it was a recommendation of the International Labour
Organisation (ILO) and the Supreme Court did not grant leave to proceed
when the validity of circular No. 890 was challenged before it by a
trade union.
The UGC had decided to refer the issues raised
with regard to circular No. 955 of 28th April, 2011 on reckoning of
allowances for the purpose of computation of Universities Provident
Fund, Employees Trust Fund and Payment of Gratuity and circular No. 990
of 31st July, 2012 on payment of a research allowance to the academic
staff who are on study leave, to the General Treasury and the
Commissioner General of Labour for approval, Prof. Samaranayake said.
He
said the UGC had also decided to refer the issues raised with regard to
circular no. 805 of 10th July 2002 on utilization of income derived
from violation of agreements and bonds entered into with universities
by teachers who have hone on study to the Treasury for its
observations.
Circulars No. 896 of 8th July 2008 on
sabbatical leave to teachers and officers and No. 959 of 12th July 2011
on granting study leave to teachers have been amended.
AUGC
letter dated Nov. 22, 2010 on unauthorized media presence at
universities/higher educational institutions had been withdrawn, Prof.
Samaranayake said, adding that the circular No. 956 of May 3, 2011 on
clarification regarding the position of the head of department of study
in universities, campuses and the heads of departments in higher
educational institutions had already been withdrawn by letter dated
July 25, 2011, he said, noting that establishment circular letter No.
10/2011 of May 6, 2011 on the same subject had also been withdrawn. The
circular No. 991 of August 6, 2012 on the UGC nominees appointed to
serve on the selection committees had been withdrawn, he said.
The
UGC informed all Vice Chancellors, Rectors of the Campuses and
Directors of the Higher Educational Institutes of its decision in a
letter with copies to Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa,
Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake, Presidential Secretary
Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary of the Higher Education Ministry Dr. Sunil
Jayantha Navaratne and FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri.
When
contacted for comment, FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri said
that he had received the copy of the letter, which he said would be
discussed by the FUTA Executive Committee shortly.
