Performance of UG as important as salary increases

– Vice Chancellor says talks cannot be just about wages

DPI, Guyana, Friday, December 14, 2018

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana Professor Ivelaw Griffith in an invited comment to the media said that while salary increases are important, the performance of the university holds the same weight.

This follows from the University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU) demanding a higher salary increase even though Griffith said the 3 to 4% increase offered by the university was decided upon unanimously including by the union president Bruce Haynes but that this was then rejected by the union. “So, it was not an imposition, it was a unanimous decision and also, I am not going to let stalled negotiations prevent me from doing something for the workers.”

Griffith said the percentage could further be increased despite what is being said to the media. However, he made it clear he was not going to promise the union 8% or 9% increases as the university simply could not afford it.

The Vice-Chancellor added that he has told the union that he is willing to meet with them again but not to talk only about salaries. “I repeated yesterday at the Ministry of Labour, we are willing to sit down and talk, next Wednesday. I am available but we are not going to be talking only about salaries. The University of Guyana has not had a collective bargaining agreement since 1976. I said that has got to be part of the conversation. I said yes, I am available to talk but not only about salaries, but I also want to talk about grades and I made it quite clear that no one who has outstanding grades are going to get a salary increase,” he underscored.

Once a percentage is agreed upon, it will be retroactive from January 1, 2018.

Isaiah Braithwaite

Image: Jamel Mohamed