Workers, including teaching staff, at the University of Bahr el Ghazal on Thursday morning, started a sit-down strike to demand salary arrears for February and March, medical allowances, and air tickets as per the enhanced pay structure.
Last Thursday, the university staff union warned that they will down their tools on 5 April if they are not paid.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj at the University Campus on Thursday morning, the secretary general of the university’s workers’ union, Bol Maker, said the strike will last three days and that if nothing changes, they will extend to seven days.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), we held a general assembly of workers’ union to discuss the salary arrears and it was decided that the strike starts on 6 April,” Maker said. “If there is no positive response, then it can be extended to seven days and if there is no further action, then further consideration will be taken by the general assembly.”
“We need adjusted salary arrears for February and March and also demand air ticket arrears from July 2019 to July 2022 and medical coverage,” he added.
Some of the university students who we sounded out said that the strike has affected those of them who started examinations last week.
Manud Mayom, a student, said they were affected but that the workers have a right to demand their salary arrears.
“We are appealing to the government, the ministry of finance, and the ministry of higher education to take quick action,” he said. “The students are planning for their strike against the government and the University administration.”
Another student, Sankuja Lewun Kalifa, said the strike has affected the university calendar.
“I think the biggest challenge as mentioned by my colleagues is that the university calendar has been affected,” he said. “Many students will be forced to return home and if the university staff stop striking, the students might miss examinations.”
When contacted, the university’s acting Vice Chancellor and the current Vice Chancellor in charge of administration, Dr. Peter Atem Deng, confirmed the workers’ strike.
“They (staff) have called for a general assembly meeting and agreed to strike for three days and they have implemented it. I tried to convince them to stay until Monday but they refused so I have called for a meeting of the deans’ board,” he said. “The Board decided to defer affected subjects because we were doing second-semester examinations. There are affected subjects in the colleges of economics and education which started examinations last week.”
Deng revealed that the vice-chancellors of the five public universities and national ministers of higher education and finance will hold a meeting with President Salva Kiir later today (Thursday).