UWI crisis! Open Campus staff in Jamaica protest non-payment of June salaries
Published:Monday | July 17, 2023 | 2:27 PM
Lecturers are among over 150 staff at The University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus in Jamaica who have withdrawn their services in an industrial action over the non-payment of their June salaries.
The action comes a week before the July pay cycle comes around.
The union the West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT) Jamaica says it has instructed its members who work with the campus to take industrial action "as a result of The University of The West Indies' breach of its contractual agreement with staff" regarding the non-payment for June.
It said with the payment of July salaries imminent, "staff continue to bear the brunt of the non-payment of salaries".
"Among the actions are cessation of support in the learning environments in which members work; cessation of systems support unless in emergency situations; cessation of support to course facilitators and students; and cessation of administrative duties and attendance at meetings," WIGUT Jamaica said of the nature of the industrial action in a statement on Monday afternoon.
The union said its president Professor Paul Brown has told the Principal of the Open Campus Dr Francis Severin that "The UWI could not be allowed to continue to breach the contractual rights of workers under the labour laws of Jamaica. As such, normalcy will not be restored until staff are paid".
Registrar of the Open Campus Jamaica Althea Gordon said June salaries were paid in all 17 countries where the campus operates except Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, the three largest territories.
She said the open campus has been facing financial difficulties, largely due to more than US$30 million (BBD60 million) in outstanding collections. She declined to state who owes the money.
"We have had some challenges with our receivables and so we have been trying to close the gap on our wage bill but we have been unable to collect on some monies owing to us," Gordon told The Gleaner this afternoon. She could not immediately provide the monthly wage bill.
Industrial action has not been reported in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados.
"The campus is actively seeking ways to cover the wage bill right now. And we hope to have that sorted before the end of this week," she said.
The Open Campus has struggled in recent years to finance its operations, a situation linked to the late or non-payment by participating Caribbean countries.
In December 2021, the Government of Barbados jumped in at the last minute to help cover the salaries of workers for that month.
The UWI Open Campus is one of five campuses under The UWI system. It targets underserved populations in the region through virtual and in-person tertiary education offerings.
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