UTech staff, admin to meet again as strike enters day 9
Published:Saturday | November 2, 2019 | 12:20 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
The academic staff at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) have still not accepted the latest $400-million interim offer to pay a portion of retroactive salaries owed to them, but there is optimism that there could be a breakthrough with another round of meetings set for today.
Stand-in education minister Karl Samuda offered the staff an interim offer of $400 million Thursday evening, less than half of the $886 million that is still outstanding.
Finance Minister Nigel Clarke was in attendance and spoke to the administrative staff.
Both the president of UTech, Stephen Vasciannie, and head of the University of Technology Academic Staff Union, Lebert Langley, confirmed with our news team that talks between the stakeholders would continue today. The university’s graduation exercises scheduled for today and Sunday are expected to be held nonetheless.
VERY OPTIMISTIC
Student union President Khalil Hutchinson said he was hopeful that a deal would be brokered in time for classes to resume on Monday. Hutchinson said he was not at the meeting that took place yesterday and was not privy to the details of what was discussed.
“I have been trying to get word from Professor Vasciannie or Mr Langley, but I am very optimistic,” Hutchinson told The Gleaner yesterday.
“Today (Friday), a proposal was presented to the academic staff and in the presentation of that proposal, there were challenges that were pointed out and what we have decided on is a series of meetings across the weekend that would allow a reworking and representation of the proposal to the academic staff, so that it is more palatable than it was earlier today,” Langley told RJR News yesterday.
The employees have been on strike for eight days. Workers received the first tranche of back pay in July and expected payouts to be made in two other phases – October 2019 and April-May 2020.
Opposition Spokesman on Education Peter Bunting yesterday criticised the Government for its handling of the UTech wage dispute.
“This situation cannot just be allowed to drift like that. It’s unfair to the students, it’s unfair to the lecturers, it’s unfair to the entire community, and the Government, who is in a stronger fiscal position now than it was in 2015-2017 when the agreement was originally struck, can give a specific timetable to pay retroactive salaries. They owe that to the country, and the prime minister, as the de jure minister of education, needs to give it the proper attention,” he argued.