UTech relief
UNIVERSITY of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) students should be able to access their grades on Monday as lecturers have withdrawn their threat to not upload the marks.
The lecturers on Tuesday, through their representative group University of Technology Academic Staff Union (UTASU), had issued an ultimatum to the Government to withhold grades unless they were provided with a response to their demand for an update on their compensation review.
But late Thursday, Dr Tashieka Burris-Melville, programme leader at the Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies at UTech, told the Jamaica Observer that UTASU representatives met with officials of the finance ministry and received encouraging words.
“It’s a positive one [the meeting] because the outcome we wanted was to get the document. We are in receipt of the document and so we are instructing members to return to normalcy, which involves them releasing grades,” said Burris-Melville.
However, she underscored that while they now have a document from the finance ministry, the proposal has not yet been accepted and will be reviewed and discussed by UTASU.
According to Burns-Melville, the finance ministry did not give a reason for the delay by the Government in presenting the proposal.
In its release on Tuesday, UTASU announced that it had decided to take action in response to the Government’s failure to provide a compensation review proposal — despite a request which was first sent on May 4, 2022.
“Despite repeated requests and collaborative endeavours the Government has yet to present a formal proposal outlining a fair and equitable compensation framework. This lack of responsiveness and undue delay has left UTASU with no recourse but to take decisive action on behalf of its members. Consequently, UTASU members will suspend all grade entries for semester one 2023/4 until we receive the compensation review proposal for review and consideration.
“This decision was not been taken lightly but it is a necessary step to emphasise the urgent need for the compensation review to be completed,” the union said, and indicated that it remained open to continued dialogue.
