The teaching staff at the two public universities of Upper Nile and Bahr el Ghazal have resumed their strike over pay which they briefly suspended at the end of last year to administer examinations.

In September 2022, the universities of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, and Rumbek went on strike, demanding the payment of salary arrears with adjustments to cater for inflation.

Joseph Dario Lual, the chairperson of the academic staff at the University of Bahr el Ghazal, and Dr. Pio Kur, who represents the lecturers at the University of Upper Nile, told Radio Tamazuj Wednesday that lecturers will not resume work till their grievances are addressed.

“On Tuesday at noon, we sat as the teaching staff association, and we came out with a resolution of an open strike which started on the morning of Wednesday, 4 January 2023,” Lual said. “Our demands are well known since we have been announcing our demands through media since September last year. Our demands include the immediate implementation of the new salary structure and the payment of our arrears since July 2019.”

According to Lual, despite being patient for more than three years, the government has not responded positively to their demands.

“We have given them (government) enough time, but nothing is being implemented, and they did not include our air tickets, treatment, and training allowances, but now we need this money included in the new budget,” he said. “We have not got any feedback, and this is why we went on strike today. The second semester was supposed to start yesterday, but nothing is going on, and this is the position of the teaching staff.”

“I am sure that if there is no immediate implementation, there will be no work at the universities,” he added.

Meanwhile, the lecturers at the University of Upper Nile started their strike Monday and Dr. Pio Kur, the academic staff chairperson, said they will not resume work unless the higher education ministers meet their demands.

“On Monday, we held a meeting with the general assembly about our demands. We need the implementation of the salary adjusted for inflation at the central bank rate of SSP 629. We are demanding air ticket arrears approved since 2019,” he said. “Our strike is a call for our demands and we are waiting for the minister to respond, and if there is no response, we will continue with the open strike till we are paid.”

Kur said students have left the university campus since there were lectures.