Two agreements were signed on Monday between the University of Guyana (UG) administration, the Ministry of Labour and the Unions representing the interest of staff members at the University, bringing an end to the almost two months of industrial unrest at the Turkeyen and Tain campuses.
The strike which had virtually crippled teaching activity will see the resumption of classes as early Tuesday, March 3. Staff members were demanding salary increases and better working conditions and had the support of the student population.
According to the Terms of Resumption agreement and the Interim Salary Increase Agreement, the three parties have agreed to an interim 10% salary increase payable from January 1, 2015 across the board for all categories of staff.
The parties also agreed that no staff will be victimized or harassed or will experience a break in service. It was also agreed that there will be no loss of pay for strike days and no loss of work for the University.
The parties will resume negotiations at the bi-lateral level within seven days of resumption of duties, and will first address allowances and other conditions of work in the memorandum of demands. The multi-year salary agreement will also be discussed.
According to the agreement, should the parties fail to resolve their differences by June 30, 2015, the Ministry of Labour will get involved in the matter.
Staff members attended a general meeting at the Turkeyen Campus on Tuesday morning where the terms of the two agreements were unveiled.
Filed: 2nd March 2015
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