The University of Guyana administration has brought the University to the brink of another crisis as it refuses to engage the University Unions on issues of deep importance to workers. So says the workers unions of the institution – the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association and the University of Guyana Workers Union.
The University Unions say that they have been attempting to negotiate with the administration on a range of matters since February 2018 by these negotiations have gone nowhere. Additionally, the Unions are deeply concerned about the state of the University’s finances, and about the administration’s violations of the University’s statutes and procedures.
After negotiations with the administration stalled because of the failure to agree on an agenda, the Unions said that they took the matter to the Department of Labour in August 2018. The administration did not agree to the conciliation meeting scheduled for 25th October 2018, but instead informed the Department that the negotiations were not stalled. The Unions have had to supply the written evidence to the Department of Labour regarding the lack of progress in the negotiations.
The Unions say that they have observed that the administration is failing to provide the University’s Council with clear and straightforward information about the state of the University’s finances. This they said perhaps explains the reluctance to engage in negotiations with the Unions about matters which involve money, since they would have to reveal the University’s true financial situation.
Moreover, the administration has been trying to prevent Council from hearing about the ways in which it has been violating the University’s statutes and procedures, and in the process opening up the institution to claims of discrimination. The University’s Annual Business Meeting was held on Thursday 8th November and the Unions’ concerns were not allowed to be part of the agenda. The Unions’ previous attempt to have Council discuss them at an Extraordinary meeting on October 3rd was thwarted when the Vice Chancellor left to deal with an ‘emergency’ and asked that they not be discussed in his absence.
The Unions have been trying to place these matters before Council since July 2nd 2018. The Union’s request for space on the agenda of the Council meeting held on July 27th was denied. Even though the request was denied on the grounds that the meeting was supposed to primarily address the report of the Governance Committee that had submitted the revised University Act and Statutes, four other items found their way onto the meeting’s agenda. The University’s Chancellor, Professor E. Nigel Harris when asked about this at the July 27th meeting, said that the other matters were more important than the concerns being voiced by the Unions.
These actions by the administration therefore amount to a complete refusal to engage with the workers of the University on matters that are important to them. It is clear that the administration has no regard whatsoever for the persons who keep the University running. The University Unions have been very patient about this situation, but the time for patience is at an end.