- UTUJC vows indefinite strike
- 12% MCA increase in June
- Salary cut recovery next year
Even as striking university non-academic staff have been requested to return to work on Tuesday (18), trade unions have vowed to continue the strike until their demands are met.
The university non-academic staff strike which commenced on 2 May enters its 45th day today (16) as both sides continue to remain at an impasse.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Senior Professor Sampath Amaratunge said that in the face of the ongoing strike, he had made a request to the non-academic staff to return to work on Tuesday (18).
He further noted that the Government had decided not to provide a salary increment for university non-academic staff in 2024.
“The President has issued a clear decision on this situation, saying it is difficult to increase salaries before the Budget. He has also said to study the prevailing anomalies and submit a proposal to Cabinet. Therefore, ideas can be submitted to this committee and the UGC will also submit to the committee regarding the anomalies in higher education.”
University Trade Union Joint Committee (UTUJC) Co-Chairman Dhammika S. Priyantha said that given the response they had received to their demands, wherein approval had not been provided for a salary increment, they would continue the strike indefinitely.
He noted that following discussions with Education Minister Dr. Susil Premajayantha and State Minister of Higher Education Dr. Suren Raghavan, they had come to several agreements.
“Firstly, we are seeking a 25% increase in the Monthly Compensatory Allowance (MCA). However, given the lack of funds at present, we reached an agreement for 12% to be provided from this June and for the remaining 13% to be provided from next January.
“Secondly, State Minister Raghavan informed us that since about Rs. 5 billion would be required in order to recover the 15% salary cut from the 2016 Government salary revision, they were unable to do so at present and would therefore do it next year after appointing a separate committee. We agreed to this as well.”
Noting that they had been flexible enough to compromise on these agreements, he said: “As trade unions, we have demonstrated maximum flexibility towards the Government. It is the Government’s responsibility to implement these proposals.”
Attempts by The Sunday Morning to reach State Minister Raghavan for comment proved futile.