• After the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) announced that there would be fresh strikes in all public universities effective midnight on October 29, 2024, lecturers are left frustrated. They now demand that the Union make up its mind and decide whether it wants the members to stay on strike or whether it will participate in negotiations and solve the problems once and for all.

After the University Academic Staff Union (UASU) announced that there would be fresh strikes in all public universities effective midnight on October 29, 2024, lecturers are left frustrated. They now demand that the Union make up its mind and decide whether it wants the members to stay on strike or whether it will participate in negotiations and solve the problems once and for all.

This comes after the Union issued a seven-day strike notice to the government over failing to honor the Return–To-Work Formula, signed in September, stating that it was a tactic by the government to buy time.

Speaking during an interview, Rashid Echesa, a lecturer and member of the Union, states that the circumstances under which UASU signed the Return-to-Work formula were not fully disclosed to the membership, with some of the chapters yet to understand the contexts of the formula.

In Addition, the lectures’ strike was declared unprotected by Justice Nzeki in court. This would compromise their jobs, as participating in unprotected strikes violates the terms and contracts of employment, which may have serious consequences.

“The Secretary General (SG) and Vice Chair here are aware that they were both in court today represented by their respective entities and Justice Nzeki declared the midnight strike unprotected. Unprotected strikes have consequences. When you participate in unprotected strike, you simply violate the terms and contracts of employment. If the consequences were to fall on you, then the courts would not help you, because you are going to equity with dirty hands,” he stated.

Read More

  1. From Streets to Lecture Halls: Varsity Dons Bow to Dialogue
  2. End Of An Era? Future Of Iconic Gikomba Market In Jeopardy

He has opined that it is time for the Union to change tactics in dealing with strikes and the government. Terming the government as an insincere entity in all negotiations, Lusaka questioned the Union’s move to sign the Return–To–Work Formula without considering the possibility of fulfilling and implementing the said agreement.

As the debate about the lecturer’s strike causes controversy, institutions of higher learning are left stranded, with the fate of education remaining at stake.