UG staff begin one week sit-in

University of Guyana (UG) staff began a one-week sit-in at the Turkeyen Campus yesterday over collapsed wage negotiations and a plan to increase the workload of academic staff.

The start of the sit-in, which was originally planned to last three days, coincided with the start of the new semester and some students showed up on campus to find empty lecture rooms.

It was decided yesterday by the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) and the University of Guyana Workers’ Union (UGWU) that the action would last until the end of the week, by which time the unions hope to get UG Vice-Chancellor (VC) Jacob Opadeyi to work on the administration’s proposal to put the negotiation process back on stream.

During an interview at UG’s Turkeyen Campus, UGWU President Bruce Haynes told Stabroek News the unions are going to write to Opadeyi about their demands, while requesting some action before staff would return to work. “We are hoping that we get some movement through the Vice-Chancellor on those objections so that we can say to the students, you are now free to return to the campus and lectures will start for the semester and that the matter is put up for that point in time; that the negotiation process will be done behind the scenes and that we [have] come to an amicable resolution of the issues and that staff can be satisfied and happy to deliver,” he said.

New semester: An empty lecture theatre yesterday as the UG staff’s sit-in commenced. (Photo by Arian Browne)
New semester: An empty lecture theatre yesterday as the UG staff’s sit-in commenced. (Photo by Arian Browne)

At an emergency meeting last week, following the collapse of negotiations between the unions and the UG administration on wages, the unions decided on the industrial action as a last-ditch attempt to force the restart of negotiations with the administration on their demands. The unions’ main demand is a 60% salary increase, payable by February month-end.

When asked about the way forward after the week long sit-in, Haynes said it depends on the response from the administration.

He emphasised that the industrial action is ensuring that staff are satisfied and that there is a collective agreement that would be recognised by a court in the instance of either party infringing or deciding that they are not going to adhere to the agreed conditions.

Haynes noted that there is no collective labour agreement currently. He said the parties were in the process of establishing one, but “we are not getting the encouragement to engage the process… and come to a conclusion.”

He said he does not believe the UG administration is on the side of the staff. “We need them to be on our side, we are not the enemy… we are not a threat. We are just people who have specific responsibilities, which we want to carry out in a professional manner,” he said, adding that workers need both the scope and space to do so.

Haynes reiterated that some lecturers are on board and will not be delivering anything to students until their demands are “reasonably” considered. That is, “the processes that are necessary to start the process and to conclude the process put in place and that concrete things arrived at are approved and supported with the finances to get it done and to sustain it,” Haynes stated.

Speaking about the demands, Haynes said the university’s physical conditions will have to be improved. He also questioned the current delivery of lectures to large numbers of students, while pointing out that the ideal situation should be one lecturer dealing with about 15 to 20 students. He also mentioned the use of available technology as well as larger spaces to accommodate more students. “We need a modernised university. So, with more people, the facilities have to move accordingly,” Haynes added.

Apart from those demands, he noted that the university is not “people-friendly,” while citing security as one of the areas of concerns in this regard. He said proper security is needed so when persons enter the university, both their property and physical well-being are safe. That, he said, is not on the cards and has been an ongoing issue for years.

“They (the administration) have to rethink the University of Guyana…,” Haynes said. “They have to bring it in line with more modern universities and it isn’t going to come cheap.”

Haynes also suggested that UG has not attracted grants and other types of resources because it has not been given the scope which it needs. “If you have to change the acts and statutes to reflect that, then we need to do that,” he said. “If you don’t do all of that, then we are not going to go anywhere.

We need to have an institution that we all can be proud of… and we will be able to attract people to it from overseas, who may be looking for a university within their financial reach and give them a recognisable education to take to any part of the world,” he further said, while adding that it is important that the administration recognise that the institution is an investment.

Meanwhile, some students yesterday voiced their disappointment at the sit-in and stated that they would have appreciated a notice from the lecturers. “We had to spend money to get here,” complained a Faculty of Social Sciences student. Another student from that faculty expressed concerns about whether the strike will end early enough as to not affect them completing the semester’s work and by extension their grades. “It is kind of ridiculous,” the student added.