Rampersad: WIGUT blackout at UWI successful

WEST Indian Group of University Teachers (WIGUT) president Dr Indira Rampersad said the blackout at the UWI St Augustine campus on November 22 was successful. However, when Newsday visited the campus, it seemed to be business as usual.

The union members had protested on November 21 at the Office of the Campus Principal and called for a complete shutdown of the campus on November 22. The members were protesting to get the government to increase their salaries from 2014 levels.

Speaking to Newsday by phone on November 22, Rampersad said many people had not come out to work.

“We’ve been checking through the departments and there has been massive absenteeism. As far as I understand, it’s like a ghost town in some departments. I checked and my whole floor, there are no lecturers there. I checked with other faculties and departments: (in) Engineering and Science and Technology, Humanities and Education, lecturers have not been out.

“It’s not just lecturers, we have senior administrative and professional staff, and those departments are also skeletal. That is the feedback I am getting.”

Administrators at the Social Sciences, Management Studies, Humanities and Education faculties and the Centre for Language Learning said there had been no reports of classes being cancelled in their faculties and departments. They said as it was the last day of teaching, there would not have been many classes in session.

Rampersad said, “Classes would have been cancelled if there were no classes. Some lecturers would have finished teaching and in some cases students don’t have classes, as they would have classes at different days and times.

“Generally the feedback I am getting is that it’s a ghost town on campus, which is usually buzzing with activity, and that’s not the case today.”

She said this lack of activity was not necessarily due to classes being over, but because senior professional staff who don’t teach had heeded the call and did not show up to their offices.

“We have the registry, student administration, the IT department, the offices of the principal and the deputy principal, and we have members working in all those departments. So it’s not just classes and lecturers. Just because students said they had a few classes here and there doesn’t mean this was not a successful protest.”

At the Lloyd Braithwaite Student Administration Building, administrators told Newsday  staff had turned out as usual. Newsday observed customer service representatives working with the trickle of students who came in to make inquiries.

Students in the faculties of Science and Technology, Humanities and Education and Engineering said their classes continued as usual. Some said their exams had already begun, while others were on campus for events, to study or lime with their friends.

Rampersad responded to a statement from the UWI St Augustine campus executive management on November 21 which said its options are limited in responding to the WIGUT protest due to both the fact the government pays salaries and the UWI’s acute financial crisis.

“UWI doesn’t have money because the government has not been disbursing funds to UWI, which includes students' fees. So arrears for student fees and arrears for staff salaries and benefits: it’s not just WIGUT group, but other groups on the campus. The Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union has a branch on the campus, as well as others that support us.

“This is not about the government not having money and we’ve seen the Salaries Review Commission report and if they accept it now, nobody can say the government doesn’t have money, because this is millions in back pay for politicians and very huge sums for the PM, President and other politicians. So the question of not having money is not one we’re prepared to accept.”

Rampersad said there would be more protests, including in January, when lecturers withhold grades.