THE University of Guyana Finance and General Purposes Committee, on Wednesday unanimously approved the request of Vice-Chancellor Professor Ivelaw Griffith for salary increases at the rate of three per cent for all eligible UA staff and four per cent for all eligible UB staff, retroactive to January 1, 2018.

These increases will be paid to staff members of the University of Guyana by Thursday, December 20, 2018, the institution said in a release. “Considering the increases granted for 2017, this makes the combined increase over two years nine per cent for UA staff and 12 per cent for UB workers,” UG said.

According to Vice-Chancellor Griffith, “although the 2018 negotiations with the unions never moved beyond differences over the agenda, I felt obliged to act on what we had planned all along to do; that is, to offer a salary increase for 2018.” He further emphasised that, “the administration maintains the principled position that performance will be a factor in this exercise, and that no academic staff with outstanding grades will be granted the increase.”

The university said as with previous salary increases, this salary adjustment requires finding money for the allowances that are pegged to salaries. “For example, housing allowances are tied to salaries at the rate of 20 per cent. Overall, the adjustment this year will cost the University G$ 81.34 million.”

The vice-chancellor noted that while the percentage increase is modest, it is guided by the principle of affordability; G$81.34 million is what the university can afford at this time. Additionally, the increase is granted knowing that there is an understandable expectation by staff members for some form of financial relief for the year.

In making the announcement of the salary increase, the vice-chancellor took the opportunity to thank all staffers— in Estates Management, the Faculties and SEBI, the Registry, Library, Bursary, Centre for Information Technology, Software Development, Personnel, Institute of Distance and Continuing Education, Safety and Security, Berbice Campus, and the Vice-Chancellery, which includes the offices of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor—for their dedicated service to students and the university community as a whole, during the year. He highlighted the University’s 52nd Convocation held on Saturday, November 10, where 1,739 students graduated, as evidence of truly talented and caring members of the university family who go beyond the call of duty in their various units.

Last week the unions representing workers had warned that the University of Guyana administration had brought the university to the brink of another crisis as it refuses to engage the unions on issues of deep importance to workers.
The unions said they had been attempting to negotiate with the administration on a range of matters since February 2018. “These negotiations have gone nowhere. Additionally, the unions 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 unions had said.

The unions said after negotiations with the administration stalled because of the failure to agree on an agenda, the unions took the matter to the Department of Labour in August 2018. The administration did not agree to the conciliation meeting scheduled for 25th October 2018, but instead informed the Department that the negotiations were not stalled. The unions have had to supply the written evidence to the Department of Labour regarding the lack of progress in the negotiations.