Teachers to fall sick on 11th & 12th next month
All teachers in government schools will report sick and keep away from their duties on the 11th and 12th of next month as a protest against the government`s failure to remove anomalies in their salary scales.

At a media meeting held in Colombo yesterday Mr. Mahinda Jayasinghe, General Secretary of Sri Lanka Teacher Services Union said the teachers` unions have demanded that anomalies that are present in teachers` salaries be removed but the government has not responded amicably.

He said at a discussion the teachers` unions had with President Mahinda Rajapakse on the 29th February the President had accepted that teachers` have been unfairly treated and their salary structure should be amended. The President had instructed the secretaries of the ministries of finance and education to solve the issue. However the necessary action has not been taken yet pointed out Mr. Jayasinghe.

The unions have asked the government for a solution based on position of the salaries that existed before 6th October, 1994, the day the present `teacher service` was established. The trade union action to be taken next month will be joined by several teachers` unions including All Ceylon Teacher Services Union, Educational Professionals Union and All Ceylon United Teachers` Union.

Posted on 22 May 2008 by Lanka Truth