Unions at the University of Guyana (UG) yesterday charged that the administration has refused to engage with them on key issues and that this has brought the institution to the brink of another crisis.
In recent years, relations between the UG administration and the University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU) and the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) have been tense as the two sides have battled over wages, basic conditions at UG and the restructuring of the institution.
The tension was evident in the joint press release that came from the unions yesterday just two days after UG’s annual convocation.
They said that they have been attempting to negotiate with the UG administration on a range of matters since February 2018. They said that these negotiations have gone nowhere. Furthermore, the unions say they are deeply concerned about the state of the University’s finances, and about the administration’s violations of the University’s statutes and procedures.
The UGWU and the UGSSA said that after negotiations with the administration stalled because of the failure to agree on an agenda, they took the matter to the Department of Labour/ Ministry of Social Protection in August 2018. They said that the UG administration did not agree to the conciliation meeting scheduled for 25th October 2018, and informed the Department that the negotiations were not stalled. The joint release said that the unions have had to supply the written evidence to the Department of Labour regarding the lack of progress in the negotiations.
“The Unions have observed that the administration is failing to provide the University’s Council with clear and straightforward information about the state of the University’s finances. This perhaps explains their reluctance to engage in negotiations with the Unions about matters which involve money, since they would have to reveal the University’s true financial situation.
“Moreover, the administration has been trying to prevent Council from hearing about the ways in which it has been violating the University’s statutes and procedures, and in the process opening up the institution to claims of discrimination. The University’s Annual Business Meeting was held on Thursday 8th November and the Unions’ concerns were not allowed to be part of the agenda. The Unions’ previous attempt to have Council discuss them at an Extraordinary meeting on October 3rd was thwarted when the Vice Chancellor left to deal with an ‘emergency’ and asked that they not be discussed in his absence”, the joint statement by the union said.
They added that they have been trying to place these matters before Council since July 2nd 2018 but that their request for space on the agenda of the Council meeting held on July 27th was denied.
“Even though the request was denied on the grounds that the meeting was supposed to primarily address the report of the Governance Committee that had submitted the revised University Act and Statutes, four other items found their way onto the meeting’s agenda”, the unions charged.
The University’s Chancellor, Professor E. Nigel Harris when asked about this at the July 27th meeting, reportedly said that the other matters were more important than the concerns being voiced by the Unions, according to the joint release.
“These actions by the administration therefore amount to a complete refusal to engage with the workers of the University on matters that are important to them. It is clear that the administration has no regard whatsoever for the persons who keep the University running. The University Unions have been very patient about this situation, but the time for patience is at an end”, they warned.
