Even though the Teachers’ and Principals’ Trade Union Alliance has temporarily withdrawn from trade union action, trade unions yesterday (25) staged islandwide protests from 2:00 p.m. after school hours. Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin said they will stage protests, awareness campaigns, etc., on 25, 26 and 27 October at 300 different locations islandwide.
Meanwhile, protesters who attempted to get into the North Western Province Governor’s Office and meet Governor Raja Collure were turned away. “We want to show our objections regarding the conduct of the Governor. But we were turned away and barriers were erected to prevent us from entering. But we will continue our protests to show the Government that we haven’t abandoned our fight without fair solutions for our demands. We urge the Government to provide solutions for our demands before finalising the Budget 2022,” added Stalin.
Stalin said they have decided to refrain from all other duties other than teaching. “We will only work during weekdays from 7.30 am to 1.30 pm and we will refrain from working on weekends and other holidays like we used to. All teachers and principals will stay away from paperwork that we are supposed to submit to the Zonal Offices. We will not commence any extracurricular activities such as field visits other than teaching, even activities that have been suggested by the health authorities,” added Stalin.
Speaking to Ceylon Today, Stalin said that even principals have agreed to use only their professional land line telephone connections during working hours claiming that they were only doing this for the sake of the children who were away from schools for several months. Meanwhile, the road from Colombo Fort to the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo was blocked to traffic due to the protest march that was organised by the TeachersPrincipals’ Trade Unions Alliance who demanded solutions for their salary anomalies. The protestors marched from near the Fort Railway Station towards the Presidential Secretariat and were marching back along the same route.