Following the abrupt ending of our historic TUA, the following crucial point needs to be addressed urgently.
Our immediate priority is to resume academic work. To do so all resigned Heads of Departments and other voluntary position holders should be reinstated. At the moment there is no clear consensus on how to proceed to do this. We feel that caution should be exercised in determining the suitable course of action.
One possible course of action is that each of the sister unions of the FUTA officially inform the Vice Chancellors that the Trade Union Action of FUTA is suspended with effect from 22-07-2011 and wait till the authorities take necessary action to make re-appointments.
Some University authorities have instructed the resignees to withdraw their resignation letters. Doing so might hold them liable for non-performance of duties during the period of the TUA. This is especially serious when one takes into account the ongoing court cases against resigned HODS.
The FUTA should consider this carefully and advice its membership to follow an appropriate uniform action.
S. R. Herath
Subject: Re: FUTA_SL Urgent Concern: Re-appointment to Voluntary Posts
Very valid points. FUTA should discuss how to de-escalate and terminate the TUA. The minutes of the last meeting in this sense is vital, so that everybody knows how exactly the process came to an end, and what steps were taken to de-escalate the TUA.. If these two points are not considered effectively, this struggle will be noted as a sad day in the history of workers struggles in Sri Lanka, where the leadership disregarded the wishes of the people who supported the struggle.
Best wishes to everybody who supported, and also to those who tried to suppress the FUTA TUA. Both parties gave strength to this struggle, and contributed finally to what we got (and did not get).
- Madhava.
