Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has stated that the members of the University of the South Pacific (USP) staff unions participating in the strike have followed all required procedures. This is the first official acknowledgment from the Government since the University Staff and Support Staff Union (USPU) and the Association of USP Staff (AUSPS) walked off the job last Friday.
Neither the USP, Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro, nor Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, Agni Deo Singh, have commented on the strike ongoing at the Laucala Campus.
Rabuka shared that he has given Radrodro the authority to convene a meeting of the USP Council. “The USP staff union is adhering to the provisions and procedures for a strike as specified in the Employment Relations Act 2007,” he remarked. He added that student support services at the USP Laucala Campus are continuing normally, with staff members who are not part of the union as well as those who are union members but opted not to strike.
Furthermore, Rabuka has also authorized the Minister for Education to arrange a meeting of the USP Council to discuss the claims put forth by the USP Staff unions.
Last Thursday, Agnes Kotoisuva, the executive director for People’s and Workplace Strategy at USP, suggested in a staff email that the university might pursue legal action against decisions made by the Permanent Secretary of Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations.
The grievances of the two staff unions relate to disturbances from a recent Special Council meeting, which they argue only tackled human resources matters while neglecting issues regarding the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Pal. Additionally, the unions are raising concerns over the ineffective hierarchical leadership at the university and the alleged wrongful termination of professor Tamara Osborne-Naikatini, a biologist at USP, in July.