The management of Limkokwing University of Creative Technology on Monday bowed to threats of strike action from staff members and immediately instituted a salary hike that will be backdated to August 2009.
The Management has also agreed to institute a separate salary increment of 12.5% for non-academic staff.
On November 30th, the Trainers and Allied Workers Union (TAWU) branch general meeting at Limkokwing resolved to withhold students’ examination marks until management responds and acts on all the outstanding employees’ grievances, among them annual increments and overtime pay. The resolution was, however, not intended for immediate implementation, and it was not communicated to management. But management somehow got wind of the new development and, fearing strike action, immediately wrote a restraining notice to the TAWU national office on December 8th.
A subsequent meeting on Monday would later end with Limkokwing management awarding their staff members the 12.5% salary hike. This was confirmed by TAWU General Secretary, Edward Tswaipe.
Tswaipe also said that negotiations between TAWU and the Limkokwing management bore fruit as the two parties were able to agree on almost all of the issues that were tabled. He also revealed that management and the Union had agreed to sign a collective agreement on the issues today (Wednesday) and later release a joint statement. The agreement is expected to be registered with the Commissioner of Labour’s office.
The annual salary increment and salary adjustment is to be effected immediately and paid before February next year, while notching of all Limkokwing staff based on their experience is expected to be effected this year and payment made before end of February next year.
“Approximately eighty members of Limkokwing academic staff were paid annual salary increments from September this year. The process is expected to be completed for the rest of the staff members, and it will be linked to performance appraisal. The effective dates for individual employees will vary depending on when they joined the university,” reads the statement from Tswaipe.
According to Tswaipe, the University’s management has been given a task to engage a private consultant to undertake job evaluation and analysis of staff members, a process that is expected to take three months.
Tswaipe also said that Limkokwing has no contract agreement concerning uniform allowance with the staff, such that it cannot dictate what attire they should put on when coming to work. The University is also expected to extend medical aid assistance to employees employed on contract, based on their terms of employment.
