(Trinidad Express) There will be a total shutdown of all operations at The University of the West Indies (The UWI) today at St Augustine.
This move by the West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT) is just one measure that the union and its membership at The UWI intend to take over the coming months to put pressure on the Government to offer workers a salary increase.
WIGUT, led by its president, Indira Rampersad, yesterday delivered a message to The UWI principal Prof Rose-Marie Belle Antoine—the march that began at the Learning Resource Centre and moved to the principal’s office a short distance away was filled with chants of “We waiting and we waiting and we getting nothing”; “she writing and she writing and we getting nothing”; “she calling and she calling, and we getting nothing”.
Rampersad said workers could no longer work on 2014 salaries, and called on The UWI principal for an answer.
Addressing the protesters, Antoine said while she empathised with the plight of staff and acknowledged their protest action yesterday, her hands were tied in the matter.
“For over two years my management has been following up diligently on all outstanding proposals. We have been encouraged by positive assurances in the national budget and in meetings; however, as the teaching term concludes and examinations begin, the lack of concrete responses or gains have heightened concerns,” Belle Antoine said.
She added that recently both Cave Hill, Barbados, and the Mona campus in Jamaica had concluded their salary negotiations and their staff members had received generous increases, but “St Augustine staff remained the poorest in the UWI-verse”.
She also admitted the current remuneration packages posed a challenge in attracting quality staff members.
In speaking to the media after Belle Antoine made her statement and answered questions, Rampersad said she was not pleased with the response from the principal since WIGUT’s membership had nothing solid to hold on to.
Rampersad reiterated that many UWI staff members have already opted to take up offers, “not just in Barbados and Jamaica, but also United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Our members have been fleeing at a high rate”.
She said WIGUT’s membership had gone down to about 200, adding the union needed to stand and send a message to the Government.
At the demonstration, Rampersad told staff, “Total shutdown of all systems of operations. So, we are not just lecturers, we are academics, senior administrators, professional staff. We have members in the registry, bursary, in the IT department, student admin. We are calling for a complete shutdown.”
Rampersad said further that if any member had to be on campus as an essential service, then they will be attired in black. She described the day as “Blackout” Friday and stressed that was because nothing was expected to happen on the campus today.
Today would be the last teaching day at the UWI campus and from next week students would be on a short break before exams begin the first week in December.
Rampersad said while lecturers would be correcting the examination papers during the month of December, in January they would have another blackout for the month where student grades would not be uploaded to the banner system.
Asked how the withholding of grades could affect students, Rampersad said it could have severe effect, “because they cannot move on to the next semester unless they pass their exams or get their results. There are all kinds of repercussions”.
Rampersad said between 2015 and 2017 the Government had offered WIGUT 0-0-2% increases, which they rejected.
She said the last meeting with the Government was last November where Finance Minister Colm Imbert expressed sympathy for their plight.