Lecturers from the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the auxiliary staff stormed the St Augustine Campus’ principal’s office yesterday to demand their backpay owed to them from their 2011 wage negotiations.
President of the West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT) St Augustine Campus Dr Russell Ramsewak led a group of lecturers in what he called a “docile demonstration” to deliver a letter to the principal, Prof Clement Sankat.
They have been withholding students grades because of the arrears owed to them. The arrears, for the period August 1, 2011 to July 31, 2014, were supposed to be paid by September 3 last year.
The lecturers were expected to receive the arrears by December 31 last year. However, they were promised to be paid in two tranches in March and June.
Ramsewak told the media: “This is not a firm offer.
“What was given was a conditional offer to possibly pay in March and June from campus management.
“Based on the fact that WIGUT already has a breach of agreement, both in the Memorandum of Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding which indicated a clear, fixed date for repayment, and I remind you is December 31.”
Ramsewak said the agreement of the payment of arrears was a conditional offer. It was based on the condition that the Ministry of Tertiary Education paid the money owed to UWI for Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) fees.
WIGUT rejected this offer and Ramsewak said the membership agreed to give campus management one month beyond the date agreed upon to receive the arrears. If lecturers do not receive their $87 million by January 30, Ramsewak said lecturers would take further action against the university.
“We will do whatever it takes to get our payment to get what is owed to academic staff,” Ramsewak said.
WIGUT was joined by Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) which represents the Administrative, Technical and Service (ATS) staff who are also engaging in wage negotiations.
UWI’s OWTU vice-president, Sherbert Mckie told the media that OWTU was there to show solidarity with the lecturers.
However, some OWTU members expressed discontent with their union joining with WIGUT. Some stated that WIGUT never joined OWTU with their negotiations and others stated that since some of the ATS staff were also students, they were suffering from the withholding of grades by the lecturers.
Mckie said they would stand with WIGUT because they were in the middle of their negotiations and the six per cent offer given to the OWTU members was not acceptable. Regarding the members of OWTU who were also staff, Mckie said they needed money to be students so they would join together to get their fair wages.
The group, which gathered at the Learning Resource Centre (LRC) on campus walked over to the principal’s office to demand Sankat and Professor Hilary Beckles, vice-chancellor-designate, meet them.
When neither campus official went out to the gate to speak with the crowd, members of WIGUT and OWTU found an open entrance to the principal’s office. The Campus Estate Police tried to bar the rest of the group from entering by forming a human barricade but the group pushed past the guards and forced themselves into the area where they demanded that Sankat meet with them.
Sankat, deputy principal Prof Rhoda Reddock and the campus registrar Richard Saunders were among the campus officials in the principal’s office at the time.
Sankat agreed to meet with WIGUT to discuss their arrears but told the OWTU members that the negotiations were still on going on “the tables.”
Registration deadline extended
Following the meeting with WIGUT, Sankat held a press conference where he disclosed that the Ministry owed UWI an estimated $200 million in GATE fees for the past two semesters.
The present arrangement UWI has with the Ministry is that they would receive $100 million of the GATE fees, $50 million at the end of February and $50 million at the end of May. This money would go to the payment of arrears.
At the moment the impasse between the campus and the lecturers continue and WIGUT said it would formally put its rejection of UWI’s offer in writing.
Regarding the students, Sankat said regional students who need access to their grades to receive funding would get letters of comfort from UWI. Also, all students would have financial amnesty until February 2 to account for late registration and the registration deadline would be extended to February 20, he added.