News
University crisis settled; lectures to resume soon
View(s):All universities are likely to return to normal by Monday after the Government agreed to a key demand for the increase of an allowance to non-academic staff members.
Thereby the 48-day strike staged by the University Trade Union Joint Committee (UTUJC) was temporarily called off.
The universities are calling on students to return to their lectures and sit the rescheduled examinations disrupted during the strike period. UTUJC Co-Chairman Edward Malwattage said the Higher Education Ministry had agreed to increase the monthly compensation allowance by 10 percent from today.
He said other pending demands would be taken up by a three-member committee to be appointed by the Minister. The decision to call off the strike came after the Government issued an ultimatum for the return of some 16,000 employees who were on strike in more than 20 universities.