THE University of Guyana (UG) administration has called for a ‘speedy resolution’ to the current impasse with the unions representing workers, in the best interest of the students attending the institution.

“It is the administration’s expectation that in the interest of our primary stakeholders, namely our students, that there will be a speedy resolution in the interest of all concerned,” UG said in a release on Sunday.
On Monday last, the University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU) and the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA), protested at Turkeyen Campus,with members calling for a financial audit to be done at the institution.
They claimed that funds are being misappropriated instead of being used to develop the teaching space.

This protest was also done because the unions did not accept the three per cent salary increase for UA (academic) staff, and a four per cent increase for UB (support) staff that was imposed last November and retroactive to January 1, 2018.
The university has since stated that it cannot afford further increases and has asked the unions to act responsibly.
“… the administration is ultimately concerned that our students should not suffer and that the unions are being urged to act responsibly as we seek to mutually resolve the current impasse in an amicable and responsible manner,” UG said in the release.
The university has maintained that it offered the increases based on what was ‘financially affordable” and noted that an adjustment in base salary also triggers a 20 per cent increase in housing allowance.

The university also pointed out, that the UGWU representative participated in the deliberations of the committee and voted in favour of the administration’s proposal, after the approval for the increases offered were given.
Through a letter, the administration subsequently recommended that the matter of increases be referred to the Ministry of Labour for conciliation, as was mutually agreed to on December 18, 2018.
The Department of Labour, through the Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle, convened the conciliation meeting, which would mean that industrial action should cease once conciliation began.

The unions shared with the Guyana Chronicle that they were not prepared for the conciliation process because, they claim, the financial statements presented by the UG administration were inaccurate.
They also claimed that the representatives of the Labour Department showed some degree of bias and have called for a full forensic audit.
The unions have contended that the information gained by a forensic audit, would enable all parties to have an objective and factual way forward, in dealing with the many matters related to the university’s finances.

According to them, the university has become “top-heavy” with many more persons being in senior positions, while the teaching space suffers from underdevelopment.