But Association Vows That RUCFAL “Will Never Bow”
By Our Staff Writer
“The CSA boss is still not learning…”
The Rural Universities and Colleges Association of Liberia (RUCFAL) appears to be on a collision course with the Civil Service Agency (CSA), days after the Association threatened to go on strike protesting inequality in salaries and benefits.
“Folks, there’s no threat here whatsoever, and fundamentally, we do not owe any faculty members and employees who are in our care,” CSA Director General Dr. Josiah Joekai writes in a post on the Agency’s official Facebook page over the weekend.
The CSA boss’ post comes hard on the heels of a statement made by RUCFAL to the Liberian media earlier this week that, declaring “a Nationwide Industrial strike action”.
The group says their action follows “government’s deliberate refusal honored our quest for Salaries and Benefits Standardization for all Rural public universities and colleges in Liberia!!!” unlike the preference given the state-run University of Liberia based in the capital, Monrovia.
Their pronouncement has triggered a strong response from the CSA Director General:
“The UL payroll is independently managed by themselves, not the CSA. The CSA manages the county universities and colleges’ payrolls. Their salaries are current and they operate within the ambit of the Civil Service regulations which clearly established frameworks for employees’ remuneration and welfare.
We’re cautioning them not leave the classrooms to join UL faculty because the cause is absolutely different and they have no reasons to do so. The new Civil Service is properly structured, professional, orderly, decent, reformed, and fast becoming productive,” the CSA boss said.
Dr. Joekai adds:
“We have functional platforms and systems to address employees’ concerns of all sorts. All faculty members and employees concerned understand and will fully cooperate. Visit our website to learn more about our work and better understand the way we do it, www.csa.gov.lr or visit our Congo Town offices if you’re in country.”