Uni. non-academic staff on strike from Sept.10 over salary anomaly
View(s):University non-academic staff will launch a continuous strike from September 10 onwards, if the Government fails to provide solutions to a longstanding salary anomaly, Unions warned.
A group of 20 Unions comprising the University Trade Union Joint Committee (UTUJC) staged a 48-hour token strike and a series of protests on August 28-29, demanding solutions to the issue. The strike severely hampered academic activities at many Universities in the country.
The Universities affected by the strike are Colombo, Kelaniya, Ruhuna, Sabaragamuwa, Rajarata and Peradeniya. Union officials said University exams, Research activities and, in some cases, Convocation ceremonies were impacted by the strike.
UTUJC Co-President Dhammika S. Priyantha said they want authorities to rectify a serious salary anomaly affecting the University system, since the increase in Public Sector wages in 2016.
“All Public Servants were given a wage increase of Rs 10,000 in 2016, to be added to the basic salary in stages, across 5 years, till 2020. Accordingly, the basic salary of a Public Sector employee should rise by 107% from December 2015 to January 2020. This also applies to employees of State Corporations and Statutory Boards. However, salaries of those in the University sector will rise only by 92%, during this increase. This creates an anomaly,” he explained.
Mr Priyantha said the anomaly was rectified for academic staff in 2018, but non-academic staff continue to be affected. “We held several rounds of discussions with the authorities, including the Minister of Finance, State Minister of Finance and the Minister of Higher Education, on this issue. At the discussions held on August 16, the Finance Minister promised us a solution by August 21. However, when we went for discussions on that day, they failed to offer us an acceptable solution. This led us to launch the 48-hour strike this week,” the UTUJC Co-President remarked.
Mr Priyantha said they would reject any proposal regarding an interim allowance for non-academic staff, that authorities were reportedly exploring. “We are not asking for a separate salary increase. Only to rectify an anomaly that has been affecting the University system for several years now.”
He said they had put off further Trade Union action by a week, for authorities to provide them an acceptable solution, but added, they will definitely go for an indefinite islandwide strike on September 10, if such a solution is not found. (SJ)