USP Photo: Facebook / USP
Unofficial results from a secret ballot cast last Wednesday by the members of the Association of University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and USP Staff Union show 63 percent voted in favour of strike action above the needed majority threshold.
AUSPS general-secretary Rosalia Fatiaki said staff missed out on salary adjustments in 2019 and 2022.
Fatiaki said the union had not pushed USP at the time to adjust the salaries because they were told the university was in a financial crisis.
The regional university gave staff a two percent pay rise in October 2022, January 2023, and January this year.
However, Fatiaki said it is "way below" the increase needed to match the cost of living in Fiji and unions were not consulted.
"The management has refused to negotiate salary adjustment and that is what the secret ballot was for.
"We now demand that the university be just and fair to staff by looking and negotiating salary adjustments with the union."
Fatiaki said USP used to contribute an additional two percent above the national minimum for its superannuation contribution to senior staff but this was reduced to the minimum during Covid-19 and has not returned which the union is demanding.
She said USP had not engaged with the union but has cited financial reasons for withholding pay.
Professor Pal Ahluwalia Photo: USP
Fatiaki said this is despite more students being on the USP roll.
She said the union is now waiting on the Labour Ministry to advise the on next course of action.
"We have not received a confirmation from [the ministry], they have acknowledged the receipt of the secret ballot results and they are yet to formally provide us that confirmation. So we are awaiting for that and we are expecting that to come through today (Friday)."
Fatiaki said she hoped vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia would "come to the table" and take staff's grievances seriously.
"We are going round and round and round," she said.
"Rather than [Professor Ahluwalia] coming to tell us 'no we can't, we will not [meet the unions demands]', he's sending the representatives to come and talk to us and then they go back to him.
"Now it's time for him to come to the table and deal with the issues."
She said staff dissatisfaction with Professor Ahluwalia was not a reason for the strike.
However, she said union members had expressed concerns about the vice-chancellor's leadership because of "numerous unresolved issues".