A socialist program for Sri Lankan teachers' wage struggle

But the September 13 strike was betrayed by the same unionsthe Ceylon Teacher Service Union (CTSU), Educational Professionals Union (EPU) and All Ceylon United Teachers Union (ACUTU)that have called the current sick-note campaign. In addition, these unions cancelled a two-day strike last October on the basis of a worthless promise by the government to grant their demands by December 31.

The very fact that the teachers fight has been repeatedly delayed, obstructed and blocked by the unions confirms the warning issued by the Socialist Equality Party on the eve of last Septembers strike: To prosecute its reactionary war, the government is insisting that working people bear the burden. Without a political struggle against the government and its war, the campaign for even the most limited improvements in pay and conditions is doomed to failure.

It is no accident that the CTSU, which played a central role in betraying the September 13 strike, is affiliated to the Sinhala chauvinist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which stridently demands that the war be stepped up, not stopped.