The Teachers and Principals Trade Union Collective organised a media briefing on Tuesday where they expressed views on their salary anomalies.

Chairman of the All island Graduate Teachers Union, A.P. Bandusena pointed out that teachers have been receiving low wages for a long period of time and through the 2006 circular, the position of teachers was downgraded from the executive class to the secondary class, while the 2016/3 circular cemented this.

“This is a great injustice done to graduate teachers”, charged the chairman who went on to state that these deformities must be rectified. He stated that the present government as well as the past governments did this same thing and this is not a political issue but an issue where teachers have been unjustly treated.

Convener for the Teachers and Principals Trade Union Collective, E.M.J.S. Saram stated that requests have been made in this regard to the Minister of Education as well as the Secretary to the Ministry. However, even seven months after the new government was sworn in, the subject minister has not even granted a meeting, he alleged.

“We are currently gathering signatures from 18 member unions of our collective, along with teachers and principals, to file a petition”, said E.M.J.S. Saram.

He added that if an acceptable solution is not presented by the Ministry of Public Administration a petition will be filed at the Supreme Court. He stated that  all required arrangements for this move are already complete.

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