DESPITE University of Guyana (UG) staff being paid a 10 per cent interim increase following five weeks of industrial action, this could be repeated if negotiations between the combined unions – UG Workers Union (UGWU) and UG Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) – and the University’s administration fail to bear fruit. According to President of the UGSSA, Dr Melissa Ifill in an exclusive interview with this publication yesterday, all staff members except two have been paid the 10 per cent interim increase which was promised by the administration and monies which were deducted from the February 2015 salaries due to their decision to engage in industrial action.

The two cases, she cited, include a “casual worker” who has been employed at the institution for over five years and a library staff. However, the UGSSA President assured this newspaper that talks were still ongoing to ensure that these two staff members were not short-changed and would be treated equally.
OPTIMISTIC BUT…
Dr Ifill further related that negotiations between the combined UG unions and the administration were scheduled for March 31, which she hopes will bear fruit. In an optimistic tone, she said that both bodies will negotiate in “good faith” in an attempt to further propel the University towards achieving international standards.
However, when pressed on what the reaction would be from the staff should the negotiation process fail once again, Dr Ifill said that if the “push around” continues, “staff will be forced to engage in [industrial] actions for the university to take them seriously.”
To this end, she noted that “industrial action is the only effective mechanism” which is capable of forcing the administration to be reasonable in their dealings with the staff of the institution.
The doors of the institution were forced to be closed following unmet demands by the staff and students over a period of five weeks, commencing January 26, 2015.
WORKLOAD POLICY
Dr Ifill had explained that the imposition of a workload policy which required the staff to work additional hours without an increase in salary; a demand for 60 percent increase in salaries by the staff, and recognition of the UGSSA as an official body, by the administration were among the reasons for the industrial action.
Against this backdrop and a series of collapsed negotiations, a 10 per cent interim increase in salaries was offered until the scheduled negotiation should bear fruit.