FUTA TO PROCEED WITH TRADE UNION ACTION
University teachers said yesterday that despite threats or intimidation by the authorities they would go ahead with planned trade union action from next month onward and it would be based on public interest and the need to address the problems in the education sector.
The Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) said the university teachers would go on strike from July 4 onwards and no threats made against them would prevent them from going ahead with their trade union action.
Addressing a media briefing yesterday, FUTA President Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri said he would not give into threats made to him or his family. Earlier this week two persons who had identified themselves as Defence Ministry officials had visited Dewasiri’s neighborhood on two occasions requesting his neighbours for in-
FUTA President Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri said he would not give into threats made to him or his family.
formation on his 17-yearold daughter.
“The first time they came they showed their ID’s and wanted to know what time she went to school, which school she went to and other information. They said that the information was necessary because it involved a journey abroad. The second time they visited they said they needed information because she had applied for a position in the Defence Ministry. My daughter was far too young and these claims are all false,” Dewasiri said.
He said they had requested to jump over a wall into his home through the neighbour’s premises to check the licence number on his car. “The Defence Ministry does not need to jump over my wall to access that kind of information. It is clear that this was done to intimidate me. And this incident is definitely connected to the trade union action that we had planned next month,” he said.
He also said that on Thursday his wife had received a letter which stated that he was involved in political activities and had therefore failed to look to matters pertaining to his family life. He said the letter too was an obvious attempt to create difficulties for him and his family.
He said that during a meeting with Higher Education Minister S.B Dissanayake which took place the next day the minister had reacted indifferently to the incidents. “When I addressed this problem to the minister he said ‘is this the new story that you are going with?’ He took it very lightly,” he said.
He further said despite the ongoing problems in the education sector including a continuous strike by university nonacademics and the controversies over the private medical college in Malabe, Minister Dissanayake had failed to conduct himself as the chief of higher education in the country.“Salaries were not our main concern during the discussions with the minister. We are more concerned about recruitment and retention of teachers, the university autonomy, the privatisation of universities and the general spending on education. There is a need for in-depth discussions on these matters. However it is not happening,” he added.