Three Cabinet Ministers are set to hold a special meeting next week to address issues at the University of the South Pacific (USP) Laucala Bay Campus. Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro, currently on a ministerial tour of the Lau Group, announced his plans for this meeting to the media.
The University Staff and Support Staff Union (USPU) and the Association of USP Staff (AUSPS) have recently received a mandate to strike, aiming to remove the university’s Vice-Chancellor and president, Professor Pal Ahluwalia. A secret ballot conducted by the Ministry of Employment, Productivity, and Industrial Relations showed that over 90 percent of union members support the dismissal of Professor Ahluwalia. There are currently more than 550 union members who have signed up.
The unions argue that Professor Ahluwalia has demonstrated a lack of good governance in relation to staff welfare.
The meeting will include Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations Agni Deo Singh, and Minister for Finance Biman Prasad, alongside Mr. Radrodro. “I have asked the permanent secretary to prepare the agenda for the meeting,” Mr. Radrodro stated. He added, “Upon my return to Suva next week, we will convene a meeting with the three Ministers to discuss the situation at USP.”