Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG) Professor Jacob Opadeyi is now begging for normalcy to be returned to the institution which has been plagued with weeks of industrial action as staffers demand salary increases and a better teaching and learning environment.
The VC who had rejected the pleas for an increase maintains even now that it cannot be afforded at this time but opined that a resumption of duties will show respect for the paying and hardworking student population.
In a release issued on Monday Professor Opadeyi said “for the sake of our students, I humbly request a return to normalcy, negotiation in good faith, and respect for each other.”
He admitted that there was need for transformation of infrastructure at the institution while admitting that the level of funding and the management of the available funds leave much to be desired. 
“We should commend the staff and students who endure this less than desirable state of affairs: the low level of staff remunerations and the unacceptable state of office facilities and teaching materials,” he said.
Opadeyi said no one entity should be blamed for the current state of UG, but the national community as a whole who have sat back and allowed the university to suffer from decades of neglect, abandonment, and political grandstanding.
He reasoned that the problem at UG was not merely a problem of decades of underfunding and poor management but chiefly the lack of a national policy on how to fund the University.
The VC said too that the injection of large sums of money into UG was needed and outlined efforts made by him to ensure greater funding, accountability and transparency along with the financial commitment of the government.
“We have made some gains, but the road ahead is still far and rough.”
He argued that nothing else can be done at this time in the face of protracted salary and wage negotiations. “We cannot afford to have staff that has low morale because of inadequate remunerations. We cannot afford to keep our students out of classes- they have paid an increased fee for that matter,” he reasoned.
On Monday morning, UG Staff members indicated that they continue with their strike action as the University’s administration continues to make clear its inability to meet their demand for a 60% increase in wages and salaries.
The staff members held a protest March from the University’s Turkeyen campus to the city to step up the pressure on the University’s administration and the government to look into their concerns and demands.
Last week, the staffers wrote President Donald Ramotar seeking a meeting to iron out their concerns and asking for his intervention in the situation. The president is still to respond to the letter.
President of the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA), Melissa Ifill told the media on Monday that the full strike action will continue until their concerns are addressed.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour has still not intervened in the matter and the unions representing the staff members and the workers themselves have said that they find the silence from the Labour Ministry very interesting.
The Labour Ministry wanted the workers to return to the job before negotiations could begin.
The University of Guyana Senior Staff Association said it finds it strange also that government functionaries have been commenting on the protest in the media but have never invited the workers or their unions to any discussion on their plight.
The strike which is in its third week has crippled classes at the University. The Student Society at the University has indicated its support for the staff members but has been relatively quiet over the past few days on the issue.
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