ABDUS SAMAD ASHRAFF
COLOMBO : Members of People’s Alliance Teachers ‘Union will meet with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to present their demands that include teachers’ pay increases be phased out in the forthcoming budget. For this the premier has given us time to meet the Prime Minister in Parliament at 11.30 am on Thursday,Gamini Lokuge, a trade unionist and energy minister, said on Wednesday, Energy Minister Gamin Lokuge said.
The 5th Congress Conference of the Teachers’ Union of the Sri Lanka People’s Alliance was held on Wednesday, November 09 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute under the chairmanship of Mrs. Vasantha Kandapangoda. The conference was attended by more than 700 PA trade union teachers and members from all over the country.
Minister Gamini Lokuge continued, “When our party-led government and president are in power, we must take the blame for our teachers’ problems.” Last month, union leaders such as Stanley and Yalewale Amathuru came out and told a different story to the media after the prime minister summoned all unions to parliament and agreed to pay them in two phases.
Most of the teachers voted for us in the last presidential election and in the general election. Proof of this is that our party got 80 percent of the votes in the postal vote count. Therefore, it is our union that has to address our teachers’ salary issues and principals’ appointments be made by January 31st.
