By Olimatou Coker
Members of the University of the Gambia Staff and Faculty Association (UTGFSA) announced they are going on a sit-down strike today.
The strike is prompted by the failure of the management and the governing council to reinstate Dr Alieu Gibba and Associate Professor Matarr Njie.
The two were dismissed recently, accused by the UTG management of tarnishing the image of the institution by “peddling unfounded allegations in the media”.
The Standard has learnt that the UTGFSA held a meeting at the Office of the Vice President during which they appealed to the government to tell the council to reinstate the two men.
A source at the meeting told this paper: “Regarding the outcome of the meeting, out of the three resolutions, two were accepted.
The first one was to reinstate all pending promotions and second one was to open a window for those that have missed the 2024 promotions window. Therefore, the staff association is still going on the sit-down strike that will start Monday [today] but we are willing and ready for continuous dialogue to bring a lasting solution to these vexing matters.”
In a related development, Foday Sillah, the secretary of the UTG Students Union, said his members view the looming threat of a strike with grave concern.
“While we highly acknowledge and respect the rights of our esteemed lecturers and staff to address their concerns, we stand substantially in our commitment to protecting the welfare of our members and ensuring that their semester continues uninterrupted…”
