Lecturers of the University of Sierra Leone have on Friday December 4, 2020, suspended a strike action which they recently took until December 31, 2020. The Academic Staff of the University is yet to reach a consensus with the Government of Sierra Leone on their demand for a 100% salary increment to reflect on their take home (net) salary, the Public Relations Officer, James Tamba Lebbie said on Friday.
Another cause of their decision to stop working is that the University of Sierra Leone has not paid their emoluments for the last three months. Staff of the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS)are owed salaries in excess of three months.
The lecturers are also demanding that Government pays subvention to the University to speed up payment of other emoluments to staff.
They also want the Government to immediately pay all salary arrears owed by the University of Sierra Leone to ASA members in each of the three constituent colleges.
Lebbie told Premier news in an interview that the decision to suspend the strike action came after pleas by the University Court, their employer; Ministry of Labour and students.
He said that all suspended examinations would recommence and exams scripts would be marked after but grades of students will not be published if the government failed to meet their demands on the stipulated date.
ASA said in an earlier statement that even though they appreciated the quick response of the University administration in showing their good intention to salvage the situation after several engagements, they regret to reveal that nothing of substance was proffered at the meeting that enticed them to change their stance.
It could be recalled that the University exam was interrupted on Monday November 24, 2020, when students of the University of Sierra Leone who had gone to the three campuses confronted a huge shock and disappointment which placed them in a complete state of dilemma after they were told by the college authorities that they could not proceed with the exams because the lectures were on strike. Earlier, the lecturers had expressed utter dismay at the non-inclusion of their agreed 100% salary adjustment in the recently-read 2021 Budget Statement in a letter to the Vice Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone (USL).
By Yeanoh Sesay and Theressa Taylor
7/12/2020. ISSUE NO: 7963