Sri Lankan academics complete march for pay hike

(September 29, 2012) Thousands of striking university academics have completed a days-long march to Sri Lanka's capital to demand a pay raise and an increase in funding for education. The three-month strike has crippled state-run universities across the South Asian island nation, though they remain open. On Friday, about 10,000 academics, students, opposition politicians, trade unionists and activists joined the final day of the march, which began Monday from Galle city, about 110 kilometers south of Colombo. The academics are demanding a 20 percent pay raise and greater academic freedom. They also want 6 percent of the country's GDP to be allocated for education. The government has agreed to some of the demands, but says it cannot grant the pay increase because it would create discrepancies in the national salary structure.