By Rehan Ajuet Moun
University of Bahr El Ghazal staff kicked off a sit-down strike following delayed payment.
In the statement seen by No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, the university staff worked since November 2023 up to May 2024, without being paid.
The strike, starting on Monday, is meant to highlight the plight of the staff for the government to effect an urgent payment.
The University of Bahr El Ghazal of Western Bhar El Ghazal is one of the public universities in South Sudan.
In a statement, the Joint Academic Staff of the University demands for salaries from November last year till now and medical allowances from 2019–2024, among others.
“Flight ticket allowances, and arrears from 2019–2024 and adjustment of the salary scale in the fiscal budget of 2024-2025,” the statement also indicated.
In addition to salary, the striking staff also demand that the payment to be in line to the current bank inflation rate of the central bank of South Sudan.
The staff threatened that failure to pay enables the continuing strike to lead to other strikes by the students of the university.
In February, this year, a similar demand, lecturers at the University of Bahr El Ghazal gave a three-day ultimatum for the finance ministry to pay their five-month salary arrears or else they lay down their tools.
Their demands also included four-year flight tickets, medical allowances, and one-month arrears.
Rabie Adam Hamed, Chairperson of the Workers’ Trade Union at the university, in a letter addressed to the then, national minister of finance, urged him to comply with the demands.