Other unions threaten to join teachers on strike

By Norman Palihawadane

Principals have informed the Secretary to the Ministry of Education that they would not report to work when schools reopen on Thursday (Oct 21).

Secretary of Ceylon Principals Union (CPU) Piyasiri Fernando In a letter addressed to the Education Ministry Secretary, says that the member of CPU would not report to work as government has not come up with a solution to the issue of teacher-principal salary anomalies.

The letter further says that the principals, deputy principals and assistant principals of national schools and schools coming under the provincial councils would not report to work on Oct 21, as a move related to their ongoing trade union action with teachers.

General Secretary of the JVP-led Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union, Mahinda Jayasinghe said that the Teachers’ and Principals’ Trade Union Alliance had decided not to report since the issue of teacher-principal salary anomalies could not be resolved before the reopening of schools.

Jayasinghe said that the government should take action to rectify the salary anomalies affecting teachers and principals before reopening schools.

Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union, Joseph Stalin, said that their last week discussion between Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the teachers’ and principals’ trade unions at the Prime Minister’s office ended without a solution.

Stalin said that they had discussed the matter with representatives of the government for over three and a half hours. The government offered to grant a salary increment proposed by the ministerial subcommittee to rectify the salary anomaly in two stages, but only a one-ninth of the total increment was to be given in January 2022, Stalin said.

“We asked for the increment in one go. The government has time till Oct 21 to take a decision. We had a discussion with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday for over three hours. Secretary to the Treasury and the Director General of National Budget Department kept on saying there were no funds,” he said.

President of the All Ceylon United Teachers’ Union Ven. Yalwela Pannasekara Thera said that the teachers and principals had decided to launch a continuous strike if the schools were reopened while the teachers’ and principals’ salary issues remained unresolved.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Trade Union Alliance (SLTUA) has threatened to join school teachers and principals who are currently on strike for 93 days running over unresolved salary anomalies.

Inter-Company Employees’ Union Chairman and former JVP MP Wasantha Samarasinghe said that the SLTDA, after a series of discussions, has agreed to support the teachers’ cause.

“It has been over three months and the government had enough time to solve the teachers’ and principals’ salary anomaly. After several rounds of talks with all unions, we have decided to support the strike until a solution is given,” he said.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the government agreed to increase salaries in two stages as a solution to the struggle by the trade unions to rectify teacher-principal salary anomalies. “The government is sensitive to the problem of teachers and principals and we accept that salary anomalies should be rectified. Yet we have to understand the prevailing situation. This situation does not warrant us to grant teachers’ requests at once as the revenues to Treasury are limited due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Prime Minister said.