University of Bahr el Ghazal staff down tools over unpaid arrears while Juba University postpones strike for another week.

The Dean’s Board of the University of Juba has postponed the planned strike for one more week while the teaching staff and employees of the University of Bahr el Ghazal in Wau on Monday went on strike seeking six-month wage arrears.

The Dean’s Board of the University of Juba has postponed the scheduled strike for one more week. Last Monday, the institution’s management delivered a seven-day ultimatum to the government to either pay their six-month wage arrears or face closure of the university.

The seven days have come to a close. But the administration said that at a meeting on Monday, they agreed to further postpone the strike for another week due to continued mediation efforts. The President of the university’s Trade Workers Union Rabi Adam Ahmed said the decision was made during a meeting on Monday, after multiple fruitless meetings with the institution’s management.

But the University of Bahr el Ghazal personnel down tools for unpaid arrears. The employees seek the settlement of six months’ salary arrears, rapid payment of salaries, changes of compensation scales among others.

The leader of the university’s Trade Workers Union Rabi Adam Ahmed revealed in a publication obtained by NCMP they had begun complaining about their requests on 1st March 2022, the first demands were simply two for the internal administration of the institution. We want promotion and yearly allowance increases, these two are exclusively for the University of Bahr el Ghazal,” he stated.

Adam continues, “We also want the payment of six-month salary delay, we also want airline tickets that the teaching staff is supposed to get annually and the senior staff of grade three and beyond. We also require that the monthly payment should not delay; it should be paid at the end of the month.”

The chairman of the workers’ union disclosed that they made known their requests to the government and sought dialogue, but the administration has not replied.

Responding to the strike, the university’s acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Atem Deng acknowledged the strike but stated the problems would be handled at a meeting in Juba today.

“I got the papers from the Trade Union of the institution. I also realize that the vice-chancellors are going to meet today at the ministry of higher education,” he remarked.

He encouraged the workers to wait for the result of the meeting in Juba before going on strike.
On Monday, the University of Juba employees postponed a similar strike for another week to clear space for mediation.

The University of Barh el Ghazal is among the five public institutions in the nation. The additional higher learning institutions include the University of Juba, Upper Nile University, Rumbek University, and Dr. John Garang University.