As a way of expressing their dissatisfaction over salary delays and benefit payments, the Academic Staff Association (ASA) has threatened to abandon their lecture rooms if their demands are not met within the shortest possible time.
According to a letter dated 14 November 2017, addressed to the Registrar of Njala University, the Association insisted that all outstanding salaries and allowances from August 2017 to date be paid with immediate effect.
The letter furthered that ASA had demonstrated extreme patience and “the non-payment of salaries has been very demoralizing and life threatening to our membership.”
The Association has held meetings with the University administration and the government and held strike actions. Yet, the problems remain and staff resilience has been exhausted, according to the ASA letter. Philip Foday Yamba Thulla, the ASA Secretary General, maintained that if their needs are not met before the 24 November 2017 their membership would go “on food-finding”, which is a strike action.
Explaining further about their intention, he said, presently their membership is stranded and cannot adequately provide for their families. They will have to walk out of the lectures room and go in search of survival for their families.
“Simply put food findings means going n search of other means of survival for our families,” he maintained. Speaking to students about the proposed plan of ASA, they expressed dissatisfaction over the conditions of service of their lecturers. Students are paying their fees without gaining any value for money.
Students say they missed the first half of the 2017-2018 academic year due to strike actions taken by ASA. The proposed strike action will infringe on their right to quality education. “We are calling on the relevant authorities to take the appropriate actions to save our education,” he cried.
AMK/15/11/17
By Alhaji M. Kamara
Thursday November 16, 2017.
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