University non-academic staff TU rebuffs strike assertions

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

University Non-Academic Staff Trade Union yesterday categorically rebuffed assertions that they have threatened to begin an islandwide strike action against the government over their salary anomalies issue.

The University Non-Academic Staff Federation President R M Chandrapala yesterday said they have not decided to take any trade union action against their salary anomalies issue as the problem is now before the government.

However, he said: “On the contrary, we have called on university academics to end their strike to revive university education.” “We have requested them to come to an agreement with the government as soon as they can to end the ongoing university teachers’ strike.

“Their strike action has crippled the entire university education system for over a month. We are not in favor of this,” he said and added, “However so, we think they are fighting for some just demands.”

“We are in favour of their demand for increased allocation of funds for education,” he said. Asked if there was any possibility that they would launch a joint trade union action with the striking academics’ trade union ,

Federation of University Teachers’ Association(FUTA) in case that they should find the government’s solution for their salary anomalies is not good enough, Chandrapala said , “ we will not resort to a strike action without a good reason.”