TU affiliated with govt. among protesting associations
The education sector is bracing for major disruption as teachers and principals have decided to launch a countrywide strike on 12 December in protest against the government’s educational reforms, scheduled to take effect in January 2026. The agitation has brought together nearly all education sector trade unions, including the Ceylon Teachers Service Union (CTSU), affiliated to the NPP government, in a rare show of unified resistance.
Union leaders held separate press conferences in Colombo and Kalutara yesterday, warning that the reforms, particularly the proposed extension of school hours to 2.00 pm. They said the reforms were being pushed through without stakeholder consultations.
Kalutara District United Teachers’ Union Secretary Tharindu Dilshan said teachers had supported the NPP in the 2024 elections, expecting longstanding issues in the education sector to be resolved. “Instead, the government is introducing reforms completely against our wishes. No teacher/principal was consulted,” he said, warning that unions were “determined to defeat” the move.
Ceylon Teacher Union (CTU) President Priyantha Fernando said that parents, students and teachers opposed the changes.
“We voted expecting the salary anomalies to be fixed. Instead, we got reforms nobody asked for,” he said, adding that all unions would join the 12 Dec., strike.
CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin accused the government of reneging on election promises.
He noted that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had recently told Parliament that teachers’ salary issues would not be resolved until 2027. “This is the exact opposite of what was promised. Even the CTSU, which has fought for teachers’ rights for decades, is now with us against this injustice,” he said.
Meanwhile, Education Professionals’ Association President Ven Ulapane Sumangala Thera said that multiple trade unions would participate in the strike, warning that an indefinite strike would follow if the government refused to withdraw the reforms. He said circulars had already been issued despite widespread opposition even from unions normally supportive of the administration.
Education Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.
By Saman Indrajith