The University of Bahr el Ghazal workers union in Wau on Tuesday, after a union meeting, called on the government of South Sudan to urgently pay their salary arrears for the last eight months.
The chairperson of the university’s workers union and a lecturer, Daniel Malok, explained that they have gone eight months without pay yet they continue teaching students at the university.
“Our biggest issue is that of salaries. When you are not paid for 8 months, how can you survive? I appeal to the government of South Sudan to pay us our salaries, even for three or four months, this would help a little,”
Malok said, “Christmas is approaching and people have children who expect to celebrate. So I appeal to the government to pay salary arrears for not only the university but all civil servants.”
Bol Maker, a lecturer, and secretary-general of the union said that South Sudan now is at peace and wondered why civil servants’ salaries are delaying.
“Peace was signed in 2018 and we now have peace so it is unfair that we have not been paid. It would have been understandable if there was war but we now have peace so there is no reason not to pay civil servants,” Maker lamented.
A group of workers at the university campus said that they will be patient for one more week but that they will resort to alternative measures if their salary arrears are not paid.
“What kind of government employs people without pay? If they want to fire us they better do it because government work is not done for free. Doesn’t the president of the republic not hear about the plight of the people? If there are people not doing their work, let him fire them,” a university employee who preferred anonymity said.
Earlier in June, the workers union called upon the government to look into the issue of their salaries instead of focusing on COVID-19.