The staff of the University of Bahr el Ghazal in South Sudan’s Western Bahr el Ghazal state have issued a seven-day ultimatum to the national government to implement salary structure adjustments to meet the current inflation rate or they go on strike.
The agreement was reached on Saturday last week following a meeting of the University teaching staff.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, the University teaching staff chairperson, Joseph Lual Dario said: “The body of the teaching staff union last week sat and came up with three agendas. The first agenda is concerned with the issue of salary pays, we already had information that there was a plan for an increment of the salaries and this increment can rise the standard of the teaching staff here at the University.”
He added that among the resolutions arrived at, “there should be an improvement of salary structure from where it is to current inflation. By then, the dollar rate was 15,500 SSP per $100, there should be an increment from the current rate to 62.9SSP per $ 100dollar and this will improve the standard of the teaching staff.”
Dario said the national government has seven days to respond to their grievances.
“The teaching staff union has given the national government one week to respond and after that, there will be an assembly sitting that will determine strike if there is a failure,” he added.
The teaching staff at the university also demanded medical allowances, tickets, and training for teaching staff to improve the delivery of instructions.
In March, the university staff went on strike and called it off a week later after the institution’s administration promised to pay their three months’ salary arrears.
The University of Barh el Ghazal is among the five public universities in the country. The other higher learning institutions are the University of Juba, Upper Nile University, Rumbek University, and Dr. John Garang University.