Sri Lankan complains against New York campus for paying 1 lakh salary without enlisting his services

Sri Lankan complaints against New York campus for paying 1 lakh salary without enlisting his services

The New York Post newspaper has revealed that a Sri Lankan who is serving in the staff of the University of New York is to file legal action against the university on the basis that his service period has been simply wasted.

What he says is that he used to draw a good salary of something close to $100,000 per annum but that because of his dark skin he has been demoted and that he is being paid a salary and is being left out because of his dark skin, for a period of time. Harendra Sirisena (Harold) a 72 year old born in Sri Lanka is an MA graduate of Colombia University. He had joined this university in the capacity of an

employee of the registrar's office when he was 51 years (1995). It was said that during his initial period in office though he had various types of work, after a period of one year a young person was appointed for his position and he had been removed from that work. Later, he had been allotted only a small section of duties by the office assistant of that same office for him to handle, he says. As such, he had been assigned a minor duty such as stamping a seal or two for a day. Because of this situation he finds time to just keep looking up at the office throughout the day and that during the entire past 13 years he had to keep feeding the birds and squirrels in the environment of the university, watch Cricket or Football matches, listen to music and keep solving mathematical problems, he admits.

The reason for this change he points out that it is the colour of his skin and that though he anticipated this situation to change in the beginning, he had realised that there had been no change effected in the duties allotted to him, he says. He further states that he had reported about this on several occasions to the administration section of the university but as there was no solace for his request he had to expose this to the newspapers in the end. He also says that by now he would file action through his lawyers about this injustice done to him.

"Sometimes I was sleeping. Those who joined duties together with me rose up. I am still there. I was not even removed from service. But not giving me work is very painful. I did all the weird things possible. But they don't take any notice about it", Mr. Sirisena had said. Legal procedures are already in motion about Mr. Sirisena's issue and though the New York newspaper has inquired from the university authorities they had responded saying that no comments could be made in that connection.