Uni non-academic staff on indefinite strike from today

Non-academic staff from over 20 unions attached to 15 state universities have commenced an indefinite island-wide strike starting from today (10) over a long-standing salary anomaly issue.

By Sandun Jayawardana

Non-academic staff from over 20 unions attached to 15 state universities have commenced an indefinite island-wide strike starting from today (10) over a long-standing salary anomaly issue.

Unions warned the strike will cripple academic and administrative activities at state universities across the country. 

The unions had earlier engaged in a 48-hour token strike on August 28 and 29 and had warned authorities that they would launch an indefinite strike from September 10 onwards if authorities fail to settle the issue. 

Unions say that the salary anomaly issue was created after the Government raised public sector wages by Rs.10, 000 in 2016. The increase was to be added to the basic salary in stages across five years till 2020.

Accordingly, the basic salary of a public sector employee should rise by 107 percent from December 2015 to January 2020. This also applies to employees of state corporations and statutory boards. However, the salaries of those in the university sector will only rise by 92 percent during this increase, creating a salary anomaly, the unions stressed.