Sick leave campaign next week if salary issue not addressed
All teachers and principals serving in public schools countrywide will go on a sick leave campaign next week in protest against the government’s indecision to grant interim salary anomalies to teachers and principals, around 26 education trade unions said last week.
Despite several talks and discussions the Government had failed to address the issue of their salary anomalies, the trade unions said. The Ceylon Teacher Union (CTU) said in 2019 October the last Government agreed to revise the salaries of public school teachers and principals following the decision to make their service a closed service.
Following this agreement, the former Government sent out a directive to the Salaries and Cadres Commission (SSC) to draw up a new salary anomaly scheme. The previous Government also agreed to create a interim salary anomaly until the SSC was ready with the new salary scheme.
However this had not happened and the teachers and principals continue to receive the same salary anomaly the CTU said.
CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said despite repeated talks and written requests the current Government was ignoring the issue.
“This cannot happen and we demand that the Education Ministry immediately sends out a circular for revision of the salaries,” Mr Stalin said.
He also said the Government had ignored the protest held by education unions at the Colombo Fort Railway Station on February 3, in demand for a circular to be issued.
“If there is no response from the Government by next Wednesday (February 26) teachers and principals belonging to 26 trade unions will go on sick leave paralysing the academic activities in the 10,164 public schools of the country,” he said.
(cc)