NUST lecturers have been on go-slow for the past week as negotiations over transport and food allowances with University authorities were underway.
Last year NUST management decided to give lecturers US$180 per week as transport and food allowances on top of their US$200 monthly salaries. These were cut from March 1 this year as the authorities claim the university was facing serious financial constraints.
Negotiations collapsed last week and the lecturers embarked on a full-fledged strike saying they would only return to work if management backed down on the decision to cut their allowances.
Contacted for comment Felix Moyo, NUST Director of Information and Public Relations, confirmed that the lecturers had gone on strike but said it was illegal.
The lecturers did not give us the 14 day notice before embarking on strike as required by labour laws. Therefore the strike is illegal and we wont recognize it, Moyo said.
Meanwhile, last week NUST students wrote a petition to the Vice Chancellor Lindela Ndlovu demanding the Student Representative Council (SRC) elections.
We hereby write to demand SRC elections with immediate effect, as the absence of students leadership has grossly affected building of bridges with the administration and indeed your respected office, reads part of the petition letter to Ndlovu and signed by more than 150 students.
In February NUST authorities expelled student leaders, banned student activism on campus and imposed a curfew over the university. SRC president Brian Mtisi and committee members Mlungisi Dube and Jorum Chikwadze were expelled from the University for defying that order.
Post published in: World News