Students, lecturers stay away from UWI

STUDENTS at the St Augustine campus of the UWI yesterday followed their lecturers and other members of the West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT) and stayed away from the campus. However, negotiations have resumed between WIGUT and the campus administration. Talks were held for three hours yesterday, at the end of which WIGUT president Vishnudat Singh said they expected “a speedy return to normalcy to the campus.” He was unable to say if there would be full resumption of classes today, since the negotiations would resume at 1.30 pm. Today was originally intended to be another “black day.” The discussions, it is hoped, would end tomorrow’s “red day.”

Yesterday’s black day saw union members withdraw their services by absenting themselves from classes, leaving students to their own devices. WIGUT’s heightened industrial action is as a result of the failure to reach a consensus with the administration on the 2002 to 2005 collective agreement. Concerning an offer being made for the category of “teaching staff only,” which WIGUT says does not exist and rejected on Tuesday. Government has since included all members of the group’s bargaining unit, that is, academic, professional and senior administrative staff. When Newsday visited the campus at 10 am yesterday, there were significantly less students “liming around” on the corridors than last week, when lecturers first stayed away.

Most students reported their lecturers were absent from classes, saying only lab assistants were carrying out lab sessions. Most of the classrooms were empty, but in some there were groups of students diligently studying. Singh told Newsday that lecturers are prepared to hold “make-up” classes, and assured students that “their welfare is our primary concern and teaching adjustments will be made.” Efforts to reach Guild of students president Glenn Ramadarsingh for the Guild’s view of the heightened action were unsuccessful. Through the Public Sector Negotiating Committee (PSNC), Government has offered a 15 percent increase in salaries, distributed at three, four and eight percent over the period. There is also an offer of a three percent regional allowance in the third year. Government is also trying to ascertain why some members of WIGUT were included as part of the negotiating team for the campus.