Three Cabinet Ministers are set to hold a special meeting next week to address the ongoing situation at the University of the South Pacific’s Laucala Bay Campus. Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro, currently on a ministerial tour of the Lau Group, confirmed his plans for the meeting to the media.
The University Staff and Support Staff Union and the Association of USP Staff recently received a mandate to strike, aimed at removing Vice-Chancellor and president Professor Pal Ahluwalia. In a secret ballot conducted with oversight from the Ministry of Employment, Productivity, and Industrial Relations, over 90 percent of union members expressed support for his dismissal. The unions have argued that Professor Ahluwalia has failed to uphold good governance in relation to staff welfare.
In attendance at the meeting will be Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Agni Deo Singh and Minister for Finance Biman Prasad, alongside Radrodro. “I have requested the permanent secretary to organize the agenda for the meeting,” Radrodro stated. “Upon my return to Suva next week, we’ll convene a meeting with the three Ministers to discuss the situation at USP.”