Chairman of the University of Guyana Council, Dr. Prem Misir barred the University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU) from sitting in at a key meeting last evening to discuss the contract renewal of Dr. James Rose as Vice-Chancellor.
The University of Guyana Student Society (UGSS) was also excluded but due to the Turkeyen campus elections yesterday no representative turned up. But UGWU representative on the council, Freddie Kissoon who was asked to leave the meeting challenged the move on the grounds that it was illegal. Dr Misir could not be reached for comment on the move and does not respond to queries from Stabroek News.
Kissoon said that the union and the UGSS are statutory members of the council and cannot be barred from any meeting. But the decision to bar the union was allegedly made by Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh, who recently reconstituted the council. The minister could not be contacted for comment last evening.
Referring to the move as “dictatorial”, Kissoon told Stabroek News last evening that if the union had any idea they were going to be excluded the matter would have ended up in court. He said they intend to wait until the next meeting, which is due in another month’s time, to see whether the policy continues, and decide on the appropriate steps to be taken if necessary.
Kissoon revealed that when he turned up for the meeting last evening he was informed by Misir that the union and the UGSS were not included on the list of invitees presented to the council by the minister.
“I immediately challenged this because the union and UGSS are two of three statutory members. We do not need the minister’s permission to be present but according to what I was told we do and that is in contravention to the statute of the council, it is illegal and dictatorial”, Kissoon stated.
According to Kissoon, the council members present at the meeting had the power to say whether he could have stayed on but no one said anything in support.
After arguing his case, Kissoon said, he left but not before commenting on what he said was the conspiracy hatched to bar the union from the meeting.
Since both the union and UGSS have been vocal on the renewal of Rose’s contract, he said, the minister has sought to exclude them. He pointed out that many persons sitting in at the meeting were there because of invitations while the union, which has a legal right to be present, was not.