Lectures at the University of Livingstonia (Unilia) Laws campus have petitioned the Livingstonia Synod to fire three top bosses at the university for failing to take care of lecturers’ welfare and to govern the university by agreed systems.
According to a letter from the lecturers, they are demanding the synod to fire the university’s Vice Chancellor, Registrar and Finance Officer by March 20 failure of which will result in a lecturers’ strike.
In the letter, the lecturers have said that they have lost confidence in the three managers and what they want is to see the three out of University of Livingstonia academic system.
According to the lecturers, the managers do not want to protect the welfare of academic staff members, govern the university by agreed systems, procedures and core objectives, and cultivate a mutually-respectful professional relationship with academic members of staff.
The lecturers are also accusing the three top managers of being greedy by sidelining academic staff when they hiked their salaries by as much as 200 percent.
“We realized that the three top managers do not care about the welfare of the academic members of staff upon noting that the top managers, without any explanation, are delaying in remitting our pension to NICO, our pension administrator, and that the top managers sidelined us when they hiked their salaries by range of 100% to 200%,” reads part of the letter.
The delay of remitting the pension to NICO according to the lecturers is a sign that the three managers do not care about the financial welfare of the academic staff.
“The fact that the three top managers chose to gag themselves when we wanted to know on whether they promptly remit our pension to NICO or not, clearly demonstrates that they do not mind of our financial welfare in terms of increases in our pension reserves. As you know the pension will form a crucial part of our families’ income when we retire or die. As such any action that reduces its growth equals an attempt to strangle our welfare and that is what the three top bosses are doing to us,” reads part of the letter.
On the failure to govern the university per agreed systems, procedures and core objectives, the lecturers have said that the three top managers are failing to respect acceptable labour practices enshrined in the conditions of service, are unwilling to decentralize operations of the university and are failing to realize what is relevant and priority of the university.
According to the lecturers, failure of the three top bosses to realize what is relevant and prioritize the welfare of staff members is contrary to the university’s core businesses of teaching, research, consultancy and outreach hence firing them is the only option.
Amzathu pepani. Koma, please muthane nawo aKayira ndi adyera.