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| Yesterday staffers of the University of Guyana staged a sit in to air their concern over the non-payment of a five per cent increase which was promised by the government that has not been paid to date.One lecturer,NFL Jerseys Supply, Frederick Kissoon, told this newspaper that the government had agreed to pay civil servants and certain semi autonomous bodies a five per cent increase. According to Kissoon the university budgeted for this five per cent and it was agreed that the payments would have begun since August. Some of the UG staffers yesterday during a protest action.“The University has now told us that the government has not agreed. The Vice Chancellor has said that since August he can’t get a meeting with any senior government official,” Kissoon added.This newspaper was told that a meeting was fixed for last Monday and while the Vice Chancellor, Lawrence Carrington, turned up officials from the Finance Ministry declined to meet with him. Kissoon said that the sit in will run indefinitely and they will continue until the desired results is realised. “We suspect that this will affect the installation of the Chancellor and the graduation which is scheduled for December but it is not intentional to cause any disruption for the two events.”Kissoon further stated that this goes to show the government’s continued mistreatment of workers. He added that since the five per cent was not promised to all UG staffers it is not a big sum for the Government to release. Also speaking on the issue was Chairman of the University of Guyana Workers Union, Bruce Haynes.Haynes expressed similar sentiments while noting that the non-payment goes to show that the Government clearly does not consider the University as an important cog in the development of Guyana.“Many Government officials attend this institution but yet they treat us with disdain,” Haynes said. What is alarming Haynes intimated is the fact that the five per cent was approved by the Finance and General Purposes Committee and ratified by the council the government has not seen it fit to actually release the funds.Meanwhile, the University in release issued last evening acknowledged the commencement of the industrial action. According to the release the Executive Committee of the UGWU met with its members on November 19 last, and decided to stage a sit-in “if a proposed meeting between the University and the Ministry of Finance on funding of the budget estimates of the UG for academic year 2009/2010 did not have a positive outcome.”However, the meeting did not take place as scheduled due to the unavailability of the Ministry officials.The UGWU, the release noted, proceeded with its intended industrial action.“The background is that the University of Guyana included in its estimates provision for a five percent increase in salary for its employees with effect from August 2009.The budget of the UG is dependent in large part on the National Budget. The UG cannot therefore pay increased salaries without adequate allocation in the National Budget. The University remains committed to the five percent increase once the funding is provided,” the release added.It was stated that UG is pursuing a new date for a meeting with the Ministry of Finance and will bring the industrial action to the attention of the Ministry of Labour.It was further noted in the release that the University administration has acted in good faith in all matters related to the budget submissions and to the attempts to have conclusive discussions with the Ministry of Finance. |
