Some Academic staff of Regent University College of Science and Technology have given the university’s management up to Friday to settle all salaries owed them – including arrears – or they will withdraw their services to the institution.
The staff – who constitute the Regent University Senior Members Association (RUSMA) – claimed they have not been paid since May. They are alleging that some money meant for staff salaries has gone into a building project which the university is bent on finishing in a year, despite compelling financial challenges.
The development has affected staff-management relationship. A member of staff who wants to remain anonymous for now claimed some of his colleagues “are even being owed as far back as April”.
When reached for his comments, Vice President of RUSMA, Kwadwo Atta Opoku said, ”This is purely an internal matter and we want it to remain as such”. He wouldn’t say anything further than that.
UNEXPECTED DEMAND
But the University’s Director of Communications and Marketing, Henry Osborn Quarshie, explained, “the contractor for our building project had told us he would need money in a year but he came back unexpectedly to demand some payment, so we had to advance him something and that affected our ability to settle all staff”
“Indeed, even before we paid the contractor, our bankers had given us assurance that they will grant us a facility to offset any looming crisis but that also has delayed, hence the situation we find ourselves in”, he added.
He said for now, payment was being done in piecemeal fashion till all outstanding salaries are settled. He also disclosed that fees from the weekend and summer schools were not forthcoming and that had further worsened the situation.
After a RUSMA meeting on Wednesday, August 3, the group announced a withdrawal of some services, with an ultimatum to withdraw all services to the university if management did not act by Friday, August 5.
After the August 3 meeting between Management and the Executives of Regent University Senior Members Association (RUSMA), a document obtained by 3news.com revealed that “all members unanimously accepted the apology from management for the delay in payment of salaries”.
Nonetheless, the document noted, “members are going through very difficult times as enumerated in the earlier Memo, members do not accept the selective nature of payment of salaries because everyone is in serious need of money. Even though Management refuted the claim that ‘We feel neglected and think that we are being taken for granted’, members are not happy about the relationship and respect between the Management and Senior members”.
The document also said in part, “…members have suspended with immediate effect, some of their services to the University (including Submission of questions for Summer School Exams, Thesis supervision, Exams results submission). That if by the end of Friday, August 5th 2016, the outstanding salaries are not paid in full we will suspend all our services, write to the media and petition the National Accreditation Board (NAB) as well as the Labour Commission.”
CHANCELLOR OF UNIVERSITY’S RESPONSE
3news.com also gathered that the Chancellor of the University, Dr Kwabena Darko – who was once a presidential candidate – appealed for calm in his communication with RUMSA, fearing any bad press could “be detrimental to the image” of a school working on getting a Charter.
He pleaded that the internal challenges should be addressed internally to avoid the school washing its dirty linen in public.
Dr. Darko had promised to meet management in order to thrash out the issues but other pressing business of his disrupted his intention.
“We are used to this recurring decimal. We need our salaries, enough of the empty promises”, an affected staff in an interview rejected Mr. Darko’s plea for a second chance to meet management.
Meeting with University’s President
After several memos to the office of the University’s President – Rev. Professor Emmanuel Kingley Larbi – went without reply, RUSMA executives were invited to a meeting at the behest of the President on 27th July, 2016. The meeting was held at his boardroom. In attendance were: Prof. E. Kingsley Larbi, Professor Ernest Aryeetey (Former Vice Chancellor of University of Ghana, now a member of Regent’s Board), Nancy Ansah (Registrar), Justice Appiah (Deputy Registrar), Henry Quarshie (Director, Communication and Marketing), Nana Ampadu (Head of Human Resource) and Edmund Noi (Deputy Accountant) – all representing management.
RUSMA was represented by Kwadwo Attah Opoku, David Botwe and Kobla Afadzinu Sewornu. Prof. Larbi, at the meeting acknowledged receipt of RUSMA’s letter, adding that everything captured in it was true apart from the point that said; “RUSMA members feel neglected and we think Management have taken us for granted”. He said the meeting should have been held earlier but circumstances made it impossible.
RUSMA put across their concern that numerous MEMOs sent to the President’s office had not received any response, necessitating their position that management didn’t care about their plight.
In his response, Rev. Prof Larbi explained that they had made provision for the lean season that is May, June but they used the budgeted funds to pay off the contractor who was working on the school’s building project, hoping to get some funds to pay salaries but things did not work out. He said they had managed to pay the junior staff and some senior staff who came with genuine cases. “Genuine cases” here means “very pressing financial needs”. Such people were given a part of their salary for the time being.
On the question of the specific time frame for payment he said “soonest”.
On his part, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, who has been appointed Director of the University’s Medical School that is yet to take off, reiterated the president’s call for restraint, stating that some money meant for staff salaries had been channelled into the project, hence the difficulty in paying staff, but promised a resolution of the situation
For now, the unpaid staff have no timelines with which to wait for their salaries as their patience reaches tipping point.
By Stephen Gyasi Jnr |3news.com
The writer is a freelance Journalist based in Accra. Email: [email protected]
