Sierra Leone’s government says salary negotiations with academic staff are still ongoing and urges lecturers to follow established labour procedures.
The government has challenged a planned industrial action by university lecturers, saying negotiations over salaries and conditions of service have not been concluded.
The government made its position clear during a meeting with chancellors, vice-chancellors, principals, registrars and other senior officials of public tertiary institutions.
The meeting, convened by the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education, followed a strike notice issued by the Union of Academic Staff Associations of Public Tertiary Institutions (UASA).
Representatives of the Wages and Compensation Commission (WCC), the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security and the Sierra Leone Labour Congress also attended the meeting.
Government officials urged UASA to continue with negotiations and use established labour mechanisms to resolve the dispute.
The disagreement follows months of discussions over salaries and conditions of service for academic staff.
UASA submitted its proposals in June. The conditions-of-service proposals were referred to university councils for consideration and harmonisation, while the salary component was sent to the WCC, which is responsible for public-sector salary negotiations.
The union initially demanded a 500% salary increase before reducing its demand to 100%.
The government says it is assessing the latest demand against available fiscal resources and relevant salary benchmarks.
Jeremiah B. Ademokula, Director of Compensation at the WCC, said the commission had completed a technical assessment of UASA’s salary demands, including their potential impact on the national budget.
He said the government currently pays about 83% of university staff salaries, with universities covering the remaining 17%.
The WCC submitted its assessment to the Ministry of Finance on 11 September, Mr Ademokula said.
He said the next stage would involve a joint engagement between the Ministry of Finance, the WCC, the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education and UASA.
Higher and Technical Education Minister Dr. Ramatulai Wurie said her ministry had consistently engaged UASA and followed the relevant institutional processes in dealing with its demands.
She said the government continued its engagement with the WCC after receiving the strike notice, but negotiations were still underway when UASA announced the industrial action.
Dr. Wurie also raised concerns about proceeding with industrial action while negotiations were continuing, referring to Section 64(3) of the Industrial Relations and Trade Union Act 2023.
Deputy Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security Lansana M. Dumbuya urged both sides to continue using social dialogue and established negotiation mechanisms.
He said the WCC was responsible for salary negotiations, while the Ministry of Employment, Labour and Social Security provided labour administration, oversight and mediation.
The Sierra Leone Labour Congress Secretary, Marx Conteh, acknowledged the demand for improved wages and said continued negotiations could help address workers’ concerns and prevent further disruption.
The government also said that although university lecturers are employed by their respective university councils, it has been responsible for paying the majority of their salaries since the 2018/19 academic year.
The latest meeting comes as UASA and the government remain divided over the proposed salary increase and other employment conditions.
The government says the outstanding issues should be resolved through dialogue and the existing legal framework as the two sides continue discussions.
