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CCNTV6
  • 10 months ago
The Government has improved its wage increase offer to academic staff at the University of the West Indies ,with a new proposal expected to cost millions in back pay and recurrent expenses.
Transcript
00:00The government has improved its wage increase offer to academic staff at the University of the West Indies
00:05with a new proposal expected to cost millions in back pay and recurrent expenses.
00:10Here's more in this report.
00:12After multiple on-campus demonstrations by the West Indies group of university teachers,
00:18the Ministry of Finance has increased its wage proposal from 2% to 6% over a six-year period.
00:25This adjustment will result in $23 million in recurrent costs annually
00:30and generate $165 million in back pay, according to a media release from the Ministry of Finance.
00:37The government has pledged to cover these costs on behalf of the University of the West Indies, the release added.
00:43The ongoing dispute has affected semester grades, a concern that the Student Guild has been vocal about.
00:50Negotiations between UWE and WGAT are ongoing,
00:54with this latest offer making a significant step towards a long-awaited resolution.
00:59When TV6 reached out to WGAT President Indira Rampersad,
01:03she confirmed that the government's offer was a 0-0-3, 0-0-3 percentage structure over the six-year period.
01:11She told us that WGAT members will deliberate on this latest proposal on Monday.
01:17Aksha Gulstan, TV6 News.
01:20Meantime, the UWE Student Guild is set to have a meeting of its own to discuss the way forward,
01:26as students' grades continue to be withheld by lecturers.
01:30Last week, the Guild promised to lead the student population into some form of action
01:35if a resolution is not reached between WGAT and the government.
01:48This morning, we haven't met as a Guild councillor yet to decide when or what sort of action will be taken.
01:56So our stance remains unchanged, where our number one goal is that the students are able to access their grades
02:03and will be able to register properly and continue in their progression in their academic journey.
02:09We are happy that there is some sort of conversation that's still happening between WGAT and the government,
02:15and we do hope that this proposal leads to some sort of agreement in a very swift manner.
02:24Because at the end of the day, we still don't support the actions of the Guild,
02:28while we do understand their plight.
02:30We do want that the grades are released and it's going to be a very good programme.
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