By Sue-Ann Wayow
SALARY negotiations with lecturers of the University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine campus can now begin after approval was received from the Ministry of Education.
This, followed weeks of protests and the withholding of examination papers by lectures.
The lecturers are being represented by the West Indies Group of University Teachers (WIGUT).
On Monday evening, UWI, St. Augustine confirmed that WIGUT was informed of the approval.
UWI stated, “The Campus thanks the Minister and her team, the CPO and inter-ministerial committee. In particular, it records its appreciation for the honouring of the timeline given six weeks ago. WIGUT has been advised of this receipt and as was agreed, it is expected that industrial action will cease as the parties go into negotiations.”
Campus Principal Professor Rose Marie Belle-Antoine also thanked WIGUT for the assurance and is hoping that WIGUT will keep their end of the bargain and release all outstanding exam papers to UWI’s management.
She said, “We do not anticipate any further disruption of the hosting of the semester’s examinations. Notwithstanding the above, due to our statutory requirements for notices in relation to examinations, the campus had already compiled on Friday night and issued notices of changed schedules to 31 examinations for which papers were outstanding.
“These new dates will stand. The papers now being received will be processed with the same integrity and care that is the norm for the holding of UWI examinations.”
The semester examinations were originally scheduled to be held this week.
