The Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) has accused President and Finance Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe of misrepresenting the demands of teachers and principals.
Speaking to The Daily Morning, CTU President Priyantha Fernando claimed that the President has repeatedly stated that teacher-principal unions are requesting salary increases. However, he clarified that they are not asking for new salary hikes but for the restoration of the salaries that they have been deprived of for over 20 years. He noted that in 2021, the Government acknowledged the validity of their demands and provided a partial solution, but that it remains incomplete, adding that their current demand is for the remaining part of that solution to be implemented. He also alleged that the President and Government representatives are attempting to incite social protest against teachers and principals by spreading false information.
“In protest of their moves, teachers and principals’ unions held protests in front of every school yesterday (2). In 2021, the then Government's attempts to undermine our struggle with similar tactics failed. If the current administration continues on this path, it will also fail and may push us towards more strict actions,” he said.
Despite weeks having passed since the teacher-principal unions launched action demanding the resolution of their issues including salary anomalies, Fernando said that the Ministry of Education is yet to have a discussion with them. “We have been on a two-day strike, holding protests and displaying black flags in front of schools. The Ministry should have discussed our issues if they are interested in ensuring education for children, but they haven't done it yet,” he said.
Education Minister Dr. Susil Premajayantha and the State Minister of Education Aravindh Kumar were not available for comment.
The teacher-principal unions launched an islandwide action by reporting sick on 27 June, resulting in over 10,000 schools across the country being closed. The teachers and principals initiated a protest march from the Colombo Fort Railway Station to the Lotus Road in Colombo, where the Police dispersed the protest using tear gas and water cannons. In response to the Police's actions, the teachers and principals extended their strike to the following day.