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Teachers hold 300 protests unhindered 

06 Oct 2021

  • Over 250 attend Lipton Circus protest 
  • No attempt to quell protests by Police, Govt. 
BY Buddhika Samaraweera  The teachers’ and principals’ trade unions had, as promised, organised more than 300 protests in various parts of the country yesterday (6), demanding a solution to their issues including the teacher-principal salary anomalies, without being disrupted by the Police.  The series of protests were organised by the teachers’ and principals’ trade unions to coincide with International Teachers’ Day which falls on 5 October but is celebrated in Sri Lanka on 6 October. The main protest, which was attended by approximately 300 teachers and principals, was held near the Lipton Circus Roundabout in Colombo. Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin and Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union (CTSU) General Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe were among the participants of the main protest held in Colombo. Speaking to the media during the protest, Stalin stated that the ongoing trade union struggle would continue until the issues including salary anomalies are resolved. He said that if the Government attempts to suppress teachers and principals through other acts of intimidation without providing a solution, the struggle will be further strengthened and taken forward. “International Teachers’ Day is celebrated in Sri Lanka, but teachers and principals had to come to the streets and protest in more than 300 locations demanding solutions to our issues. The Government is now trying to suppress us without resolving our issues. For instance, Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (Retd.) Sarath Weerasekera was seen threatening us but those threats don’t apply to us. We will continue to hold protests democratically,” he said. Weerasekera recently warned that harsh measures would be taken against trade unions or other groups who protest while the country remains open during the Covid-19 pandemic period. The Morning contacted Public Security Ministry Secretary, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Jagath Alwis to inquire as to whether the Police would take any action against the protests held yesterday, as he himself had told The Morning earlier that no party is allowed to hold protests given the Covid-19-related health guidelines that are in place.  In response, he said: “They have just been there and gone off. We will make a note of it and see how things go. We are not in a rush to do anything, but we will make a note of it.”  Meanwhile, Jayasinghe, addressing the media during the protest, said that the teachers and principals had to take to the streets to protest on the occasion of International Teachers’ Day due to the actions of the Government. “The Government has been delaying the provision of solutions to our issues for 87 days. It has been 37 days since the Cabinet of Ministers took a decision in this regard, but the Government has not yet discussed the matter with us,” he added. Nearly 30 teachers’ and principals’ trade unions have embarked on a number of trade union actions, including withdrawal from all physical and online teaching activities and examination-related duties, demanding a solution to the teacher-principal salary anomaly issue since 12 July 2021.

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