Upper Nile University gate. (Photo: Courtesy).

The academic staff of Upper Nile University declared an indefinite strike this morning over the delayed adjustment of the new salary scale.

This is the third salary-related strike for the university staff in three years.

The Academic Staff Association Chairperson, Dr. Pio Kur Deng says the confirmation of indefinite industrial action was agreed upon in the General Assembly extra-ordinary meeting of last year.

The November 2022 meeting discussed the delayed adjustment of the salary.

Dr. Pio says they have raised two issues; the adjustment of the new salary scale according to the current Bank inflation rate and the immediate payment of annual ticket allowances.

“We are going for our indefinite industrial action from today, just to speed up the process for the adjustment of our salary, it’s not only the adjustment of the salary because we have also demanded the annual tickets,” he told Eye Radio on Tuesday.

“On 19TH July 2019, it (increased salary) was approved together with the current salary which we are receiving now, but we don’t receive it since 2019.”

“So for these two reasons we are demanding for our government to speed up the process of the adjustment of the salary based on the current of the central bank rate.”

Last year, the public universities release a joint statement addressed to the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, demanding an increased medical allowance, ticket fares, and training to be included in the new salary scale.

The administrations of Rumbek University of Science and Technology, University of Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile University were also demanding immediate payment of their four-month arrears.

The lecturers and staff of the universities were reacting to the approval of 658 billion pounds for the new salary structure by the national cabinet in September.

The pending new salary structure is for civil servants and constitutional post-holders to meet their demands amid a global economic crisis.