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Report on teachers’ salary to Cabinet on 23rd

20 Aug 2021

  • Talks with Basil prior to compiling report
BY Buddhika Samaraweera and Dinitha Rathnayake The Cabinet Sub-Committee appointed to look into the teacher-principal salary anomaly issue has informed the teachers’ and principals’ trade unions representatives that the Sub-Committee report would be prepared following discussions with Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, after which it would be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers on 23 August. Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union (CTSU) General Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe told The Morning that they were informed of the matter when the teachers’ and principals’ trade unions representatives had met with members of this Cabinet Sub-Committee on 18 August at its member, Industries Minister Wimal Weerawansa’s residence in Colombo. According to him, a lengthy discussion on providing solutions to the salary anomaly issue had taken place during the meeting. “However, we were not informed of their proposals to provide a concrete solution to the issue,” he claimed. Jayasinghe also said that when the trade union representatives were questioned as to what action should be taken to resolve the said salary anomaly issue, they had informed the Sub-Committee that all the recommendations prepared by the “Subodhini Committee”, which had been previously appointed to look into the same salary anomaly issue, should be implemented. When questioned as to what the Sub-Committee’s response to it was, he said: “They said that they would accept the said Committee’s report in principle, but they kept mentioning the Government’s financial problems in the context of the current Covid-19 pandemic situation, where they especially said that there is a financial crisis due to the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines.” However, Jayasinghe explained that despite the huge financial crisis in the country as claimed by the Government, the people are well aware of the unnecessary expenditure incurred by the Government. How can the Government, which claims that they cannot pay what the teachers deserve, spend billions on unimportant projects, he queried. He further said that at the end of the discussion, the members of the Sub-Committee had informed them that they (the Sub-Committee members) would meet with Rajapaksa and formulate their recommendations thereafter. “Accordingly, the Sub-Committee informed us that it is hoped to submit its recommendations to the Cabinet of Ministers meeting to be held on 23 August,” he added. “However, no matter how any committee prepares its report, all the trade union actions that have been initiated so far would continue until their demands are met,” Jayasinghe added. Sub-Committee Member and Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that since the Government has a genuine desire to find a proper solution to the teacher-principal salary anomaly issue, discussions have been held with all parties without delay from the date of appointment of the said Sub-Committee. He also recalled that some had alleged that the Sub-Committee had been appointed to delay the matter instead of resolving the issue. The Sub-Committee has obtained all the information from the Education Ministry on the steps taken so far to resolve the issue of the teacher-principals salary anomaly. “The Government strongly believes that this salary anomaly should be eliminated and has been advocating for it since its inception,” the Minister claimed. Therefore, as the Government has a sincere need to resolve the issue, the Cabinet Sub-Committee has been entrusted with the task of formulating a methodology to resolve this issue in light of the current situation in the country, according to Ranatunga. Nearly 30 teachers’ and principals’ trade unions have embarked on a number of trade union actions, demanding a solution to the teacher-principal salary anomaly issue, the provision of facilities for teachers and students to carry out online education activities, and several other issues. The trade unions had decided to withdraw from all online teaching activities from 12 July until further notice, in protest over the arrest of a group of trade unionists and student activists, including CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin, and the lack of a solution to the teacher-principal salary anomaly issue. In addition to online teaching activities, the teachers and principals had withdrawn from duties related to sending applications for examinations including the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level (A/L) examination online. They had also withdrawn from teaching activities at regional learning centres recently established by the Education Ministry. Also, nearly 5,800 teachers and principals had decided to withdraw from practical examination-related duties of the GCE Ordinary Level (O/L) examination that commenced on 26 July. In addition, they have also decided to withdraw from duties related to the GCE A/L and Grade Five Scholarship examinations that are to be held in November 2021.


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