By ROGERS KALERO
THE protest by the Copperbelt University (CBU) lecturers over a four percent salary increment is this week expected to escalate after last Thursday’s meeting with management hit a “Brick Wall” following management’s decision to offer them an additional one percent.
The management at CBU had invited the Copperbelt University Academicians Union (CBUAU) to a meeting and offered them an additional one percent to the four percent which the union had earlier rejected.
The union said the decision by management to offer an additional one percent to the protesting lecturers was a mockery especially at a time when the prices of essential commodities are expected to sky-rocket following the increased prices of fuel
CBUAU General Secretary Willie Ngosa said the protest by the lecturers over a mediocre five percent salary increment was expected to escalate this week because the meeting between the union and management last week had failed to meet the demands of the lecturers
Mr Ngosa said the lecturers were demanding for the 12 percent salary increment, but were shocked that management decided to call for a meeting with an offer of an additional one percent to make it four percent which we had rejected
“As far as we are concerned, the protest continues this week and it may be escalated. CBU has 1, 362 employees of which 459 are academic staff who generate income for the university through lectures and researches, while the rest are support staff.
“The support staff are more than the academic staff and are the ones who consume a huge chunk of the wage bill at CBU. So, as people who generate income for the university, we cannot be subjected to a mediocre increment of four per ent and later a mockery additional offer of one percent,’’ Mr Ngosa said
CBU Registrar Helen Mukumba could not say anything regarding the outcome of the meeting because they did not finalise
“Yes, we had a meeting but I don’t have anything to tell you because we did not finalise,’’ Ms Mukumba said.
The lecturers started their protest last Monday, over the four percent salary increment which management offered to them, but they rejected it and instead demanded for a 12 percent salary increment.
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