Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Technical and Higher Education has declared the ongoing strike by academic staff at public tertiary institutions unlawful, insisting that lecturers should return to work when universities reopen on Monday, 12 October.
In a press release issued on Friday, the ministry said negotiations over salaries and conditions of service were still ongoing when the strike began on 16 September, arguing that the industrial action violated provisions of the Industrial Relations and Trade Union Act, 2024.
The government’s position sets the stage for a potential confrontation with academic staff, who have demanded a 100 per cent salary increase and raised concerns over their conditions of service.
The ministry said the government remained committed to dialogue and resolving the dispute through established legal procedures, while urging lecturers to resume teaching and other academic responsibilities.
According to the statement, academic staff had previously received a total salary increase of 75 per cent, implemented in three instalments. When compounded, the ministry said, the increases amounted to approximately 87.5 per cent.
The government subsequently approved a further 15 per cent salary increase for staff in tertiary educational institutions, effective April 2025.
The ministry also said that, since July 2019, the government had assumed responsibility for salaries and annual leave allowances in public tertiary institutions, currently financing approximately 83 per cent of university staff salaries.
However, the Academic Staff Associations (ASAs) presented a demand for a 100 per cent salary increase in June and July 2026. The ministry said it advised that the salary component of the demand be referred to the Wages and Compensation Commission (WCC) for assessment and negotiation in accordance with the law.
The WCC subsequently submitted its assessment of the financial implications to the Ministry of Finance on 11 September, five days before the strike commenced.
The ministry maintained that negotiations over salaries and conditions of service were therefore still underway when academic staff embarked on industrial action.
It also questioned the authority of the Union of Academic Staff Associations (UASA) to declare the strike, claiming that the union had not been issued with the bargaining certificate required under the applicable labour legislation.
The ministry cited Section 63(3) of the Industrial Relations and Trade Union Act, 2024, which states that a party to an industrial dispute must not resort to a strike while negotiation or mediation processes are in progress.
It also referred to Section 63(4), which requires an aggrieved unionised employee intending to strike to channel that intention through the secretary-general of a registered trade union holding a bargaining certificate.
According to the ministry, UASA’s registration as a corporate entity with the National Investment Board does not, by itself, establish its status as a trade union or confer collective bargaining authority under the law.
The ministry further cited the Universities Act, 2021, saying the legislation recognises Academic Staff Associations within university governance structures but does not identify UASA as such a body.
The government said its position concerned compliance with statutory requirements and did not diminish academic staff’s right to raise legitimate grievances or its willingness to address them through dialogue.
With public universities scheduled to reopen on Monday, the ministry called on lecturers to report for duty, adding that it remained open to constructive engagement aimed at securing what it described as a fair, lawful and fiscally sustainable resolution.
The dispute raises questions about how the government and academic staff will reconcile salary demands, public finances and the legal requirements governing industrial action, while limiting disruption to students’ education.
The ministry did not announce any new financial offer in the statement. It also did not provide a detailed timetable for concluding negotiations following the WCC’s assessment.
