Trade unions must realise their limits - EDITORIAL

Unions representing university non-academic staff demand the rectification of a 15% pay cut imposed on them and a 25% increase in their Monthly Compensatory Allowance (MCA)

University students in the country have been severely inconvenienced due to administrative functions at state universities continuing to be crippled as a result of the month-long strike by university non-academic staff over their salary anomaly issue and several other demands.

Lectures at the state universities have been forced to be conducted online and many university examinations, international conferences and university convocations have also been indefinitely postponed. University administrations are not in a position to inform students when these can be rescheduled.

Examinations in the Open University have been indefinitely postponed. Those who aspire overseas post-graduate studies are in a fix due to delays in the verification process of degrees and academic transcripts. Those who have completed their degrees are awaiting the end of the strike to obtain their degree certificates and 
academic transcripts. 

Simply, the authorities here have infringed the rights of two groups – the university non-academic staff and thereby the university students - with their lethargic attitude or indifference. Given the history of the problem the struggle by the academic staff is justifiable. Unions representing university non-academic staff demand the rectification of a 15% pay cut imposed on them and a 25% increase in their Monthly Compensatory Allowance (MCA). University trade unions say that a committee appointed under former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has already recommended that the 15% pay cut be rectified. Students’ unions, University teachers and many political parties have supported the struggle by the university’s non-academic staff.

State Minister of Higher Education Dr. Suren Raghavan told the media last Friday that the government will hold discussions with union leaders on Monday (yesterday). He said the strike is causing a direct financial loss of around Rs. 150 million and wasting of 1.8 million man-hours. He also stated that the government would need Rs. 1.1 billion for the next six months to meet the demands of the trade unions. One has to put the question to the minister as to why the authorities waited a month until “financial loss of around Rs. 150 million and wasting of 1.8 million man-hours” was caused to talk to the trade unions on a matter agreed by a previous government. 

At the same time, we have to question the attitudes of the trade unions of this country as well towards the people affected by their struggles. The right of an individual or a group of individuals including trade unions to fight for their rights is inalienable. Nevertheless, they do not have any right to infringe the rights of others in the process of struggling for their rights. Ironically, in almost all trade union actions one or the other group of people have to suffer. The greater number of people suffer or the more severe suffering is inflicted in these trade union actions the more pressure is being exerted on the authorities to resolve the issue. Similarly, the greater the number of people undergo suffering due to trade union actions, ironically the more those struggles are deemed to be successful. This is more so in respect of trade union actions in fields such as health, education and transport. 

In fact, trade unions are violating the rights of other people to win their rights. They expect the people to tolerate it which people do either out of understanding or helplessness. This is an important fact that trade union leaders must be mindful of when their struggles prolong. Examinations – university or otherwise – and post-graduate studies are time-bound. If they are not completed in time, the candidates would have to wait sometimes another year – meaning postponing their lives by one year. Sometimes this might affect one’s whole life. No trade union member or leader has the right to demand the people to postpone their life for at least one year for what they are not responsible for. Besides, trade unions, if they intend to prolong their actions must be mindful of the fact that the authorities might use this situation to pit the people who are affected by the trade union actions against the unions.