A group of concerned alumni of the University of the South Pacific has called the regional institution’s delay in releasing the outcomes of the 98th USP Council meeting held in Rarotonga late last month “totally unacceptable”.

The group released a statement on Thursday, stating that the regional university’s main decision-making body and support staff’s failure to provide a timely update “to keep the Pacific Islands taxpayers and fee-paying students fully informed about important decisions . . . is becoming totally unacceptable”.

“This is particularly so as the USP unions’ strike action mandate is active,” the statement read.

Earlier this week, there was speculation that the USP vice-chancellor and president, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, who has fallen out of favour with the staff unions, had stepped down from his role at the Rarotonga meeting.

However, the USP told RNZ Pacific that information about Professor Ahluwalia resigning was “inaccurate”.

The university did not respond to RNZ Pacific’s specific question on whether the vice-chancellor had resigned.

“The University of the South Pacific wishes to clarify that the allegations regarding events at the 98th Council meeting are inaccurate,” a USP spokesperson said.

“The USP Council will issue an official statement on the outcomes of the meeting in due course.”

But the USP alumni statement included a “summary of the major council decisions”, including the appointment of a new VCP as one of seven main outcomes of the two-day meeting in the Cook Islands.

But the USP alumni statement included a “summary of the major council decisions”, including the appointment of a new VCP as one of seven main outcomes of the two-day meeting in the Cook Islands.

“A new USP visitor has also been appointed. He is Mr Daniel Fatiaki, former Chief Justice of Fiji and Vanuatu. He is an alumnus and Preliminary 2 graduate in the early 1970s.

“On the first day, VCP [Ahluwalia] indicated he would be stepping down from the VCP position.”

The USP is jointly owned by 12 Pacific Island nations.

New Zealand and Australia have been major development partners of the institution since its inception in in 1968, providing core funding for the university.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The University of the South Pacific staff associations are up in arms about the sacking of a union leader and academic by the university’s chief executive.

In a joint press release, the Association of the University of the South Pacific (AUSPS) and the USP Staff Union (USPSU), this week claimed that USP vice-chancellor and president Pal Ahluwalia had “launched a vicious attack on the staff unions and freedom of speech” after he terminated the employment contract AUSPS president Dr Tamara Osborne-Naikatini on July 9.

They said Ahluwalia sacked Dr Osborne-Naikatini because she spoke to the media about the “flawed process” through which he was offered a renewal to his contract to lead the institution.

“The university’s claim of ‘gross misconduct’ stems from information Dr Osborne-Naikatini allegedly shared, as AUSP President, in an Islands Business interview reported in the March 2024 edition that revealed a flawed process in the review of the performance of Ahluwalia that subsequently led to a two-year renewal of contract,” they said in the release.

Dr Osborne-Naikatini was the staff representative on the the chief academic authority — the USP Senate — to the review committee, they added.

“Dr Osborne-Naikatini stood for the staff of USP and fought for good governance which ultimately led to her termination,” they said.

The staff unions say that by sacking the biology lecturer, Ahluwalia has “launched a vicious attack on the staff unions and freedom of speech” and are demanding her reinstatement.

RNZ Pacific had put these claims to the university.

Staff contracts ‘confidential’
“Please note that all staff contracts, including terminations, are confidential. The university is not at liberty to discuss staff information with third parties,” the USP said in an email statement.

The USP, the premier institution of higher learning for the region, has had to deal with a series of crisis in relation to the good governance practices and staff-management issues since the vice-chancellor first took the job in 2018.

In 2019, Ahluwalia was deported from Fiji in a midnight raid carried out Fijian police and immigration officials, after he fell out of favour with the previous Bainimarama administration, for exposing allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement at the university under the leadership of his predecessor.

He led USP from exile, for some time from Nauru, before relocating to Samoa in 2021. In May this year, the USP Council voted for him to relocate back to Suva.

The staff unions reminded Ahluwalia of the 2019 saga in their joint statement, saying they “stood steadfast with him when he was victimised as the whistleblower. He seemed to have a short-lived memory”.

Earlier this year, the unions were at loggerheads with the management over salary disputes.

They had threatened to take strike action if the executive team failed to meet their demands, which they claimed has been neglected by Ahluwalia.

However, both sides reached an agreement last month, and the unions withdrew their strike action.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

University of the South Pacific staff unions are giving management “one more chance to come to the table” before they go on strike.

On Wednesday, the staff association received the secret ballot outcome from Fiji’s Labour Ministry, which confirmed that they had a mandate for strike action.

Association of USP Staff (AUSPS) general-secretary Rosalia Fatiaki told RNZ Pacific that staff have agreed to return to management to give them one last opportunity to meet the unions demands.

“We [are giving management] one more chance to come to the table and in good faith, let’s look at this. Hopefully we are able to resolve the issues that led us to take this action. By next week we expect a response,” she said.

Fatiaki said the USP management would be given a week to meet with the unions and 21 days to come to an agreement, adding if the management do not come to the table “the next course of action is strike action”.

“When staff go on strike the students are the people that will be most affected. That’s why we’re giving management another chance.”

Fatiaki said the unions were expecting management to negotiate a new offer.

Secret ballot
On March 6, AUSPS cast a secret ballot where 96 percent of its members voted in favour of strike action above the needed majority threshold.

Fatiaki said management had refused to negotiate salary adjustments and that was why staff might strike.

She said staff missed out on salary adjustments in 2019 and 2022.

The regional university gave staff a two percent pay rise in October 2022, January 2023, and January this year.

However, Fatiaki said it was “way below” the increase needed to match the cost of living in Fiji and unions were not consulted.

She 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 the covid-19 pandemic and had not returned which the union was demanding.

Financial reasons
She said USP had not engaged with the union but had cited financial reasons for withholding pay.

Late last month, AUSPS members staged a protest calling for the resignation of the university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, for not being responsive to the union’s concerns.

In a statement to RNZ Pacific, USP said “we remain hopeful that through USP management, we can continue to have discussions with the AUSPS about their grievances and follow proper channels to meet their demands until an amicable solution is reached.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A secret ballot by members of the Association of University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and USP Staff Union have voted in favour of strike action at the institution.

Unofficial results in the poll last Wednesday showed 63 percent in favour, 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 was “way below” the increase needed to match the cost of living in Fiji and unions had not been consulted.

“The management has refused to negotiate salary adjustment and that is what the secret ballot was for,” she said.

USP not engaged
“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 the covid-19 pandemic and had not returned which the union was demanding.

She said USP had not engaged with the union but had cited financial reasons for withholding pay.

Fatiaki said this was despite more students being on the USP roll.

She said the union was now waiting on Fiji’s 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 grievances seriously.

‘Going round and round’
“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 [and] 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”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The University of the South Pacific Council has reappointed Professor Pal Ahluwalia as vice-chancellor and president amid two days of staff protests.

The council says it has also heard from staff representatives and urged the unions and management to work collaboratively in the interest of the university.

The meeting was chaired by the acting pro-chancellor and chair of council and the New Zealand government representative, emeritus Professor Pat Walsh, in place of the pro-chancellor and chair of council Dr Hilda Heine, who is away from university business.

In a statement released by USP, Professor Walsh welcomed the reappointment of the vice-chancellor and expressed his and the council’s endorsement of Professor Ahluwalia’s performance.

Professor Ahluwalia thanked the vouncil for its continued support, saying he looked forward to serving the university and the region.

The council noted reports from the pro-chancellor and the vice-chancellor and president on activities undertaken since their last report to council.

Professor Pal Ahluwalia said the university was delivering its priorities successfully against the backdrop of declining enrolment numbers and financial constraints.

Updated on finances
The council was updated on the finances of the university and noted the ongoing challenges USP continues to face.

The council adopted the proposed annual plan for 2024 and noted the financial strategies for the coming year.

It also approved the financial plan for 2024 and adopted the audited financial statements for the half-year ended 30 June 2023.

The council further noted the impact and risks associated with the financial challenges being faced by the university largely due to the decline in student numbers.

The management outlined its strategies for mitigating the challenges ahead.

The council also approved a report by the University Senate and instituted new programmes in Pacific TAFE.

In addition, the council endorsed a proposed scoping study to establish a Pacific Centre of Excellence for Deep Ocean Science and a report will be presented at the next council meeting to be held in Vanuatu in 2024.

Unions want VC out
Meanwhile, The Fiji Times reported yesterday in a front page report that staff unions said they wanted Professor Pal Ahluwalia out.

Vijay Narayan is news director of Fijivillage News. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) will now make necessary submissions to go on a strike.

This comes after AUSPS president Elizabeth Read Fong confirmed that the USP Council had denied staff papers to be presented in this week’s USP Council meeting.

Fong said this meant there would be no pay adjustments, among other things they had asked for.

She said that the next step would be to take industrial action, and they will give 21 days’ notice prior to the planned action.

She added that they would decide on the date of the protest for maximum impact.

The staff braved the wet conditions today to carry out a second day of peaceful protest outside the meeting venue of the USP Council.

Fong said staff still wanted vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia to step down or be removed from his role.

The meeting will conclude later today.

Apenisa Waqairadovu is a FBC News multimedia journalist.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

University of the South Pacific Union (USPU) president Reuben Colata says industrial action will be the next step if USP does not approve their pay increment being sought.

Colata said they did not know why the university did not want to negotiate a salary increase.

He said the university had about $80 million in savings with another $19 million given by the government this year.

With that amount of money, the university could pay the staff rather than allow the staff to bargain for their salary.

His union is one of two unions representing USP staff.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad, said he encouraged the staff to engage with management — and with the USP Council — to resolve this issue.

Professor Biman said Fiji’s coalition government believed in academic freedom and also valued the freedom of workers the country needed.

The USP Council meeting is still underway at the USP Japan ICT Centre and it will continue today.

The USP staff had a silent protest yesterday after their staff paper was not allowed to be included as part of the council’s agenda.

Seeking removal of VC
They are calling for the staff paper to be discussed by the USP Council which includes the issues about the staff pay increment demand.

They are also calling for the removal of the regional institution’s vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia.

The academic staff are represented by the Association of USP Staff (AUSPS) whose president, Elizabeth Read Fong, told FBC News that Professor Ahluwalia’s contract should end by December 31.

She hinted that the vice-chancellor had already turned 65, which is the institution’s retirement age.

“He also turns 65 at the beginning of the year,” she said.

“The university policy is that when you turn 65, you work until December 31st, so there is a post-retirement thing, but he has put that on hold, so one policy applies to everybody.”

Iliana Biutu is a Fiji Village News reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

University of the South Pacific (USP) staff gathered outside the Japan-Pacific ICT Centre today to protest over better pay and conditions as well as calling for the removal of the regional institution’s vice-chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia.

The university’s main decision making body, the USP Council, is meeting at the Laucala campus this week.

Aggrieved employees of the university showed up in black, holding placards calling for “fair pay” and for Professor Ahluwalia to resign.

The staff are unhappy after the USP pro-chancellor chair of council Dr Hilda Heine did not include a staff paper on the agenda of the meeting today, according to local media reports.

“The Association of USP Staff (AUSPS) president Elizabeth Fong said the paper included a submission on staff salary adjustment and a recommendation to recruit a new Vice Chancellor who is originally from the region,” according to a Fiji One News report.

FBC News reports that the staff are calling for the “non-renewal Ahluwalia’s contract, claiming that he is no longer fit for the role” and that the vice-chancellor’s position to be advertised.

“Fong claims the VC is all talk and no action,” it reported.

The state broadcaster is reporting that USP staff want a 11 percent increase in pay and not the four percent they have received recently.

“We have staff shortages, vacancies which means people have doubled up and tripled up on their responsibilities. This is about keeping USP serving the region, serving its people,” Fong was quoted by FBC News as saying.

USP staff gather in numbers for peaceful protest pic.twitter.com/y4XA6EHYvC

— fijivillage (@fijivillage) November 27, 2023

‘We remain hopeful’ — USP
In a statement to RNZ Pacific, USP said its management “continues to work with the staff unions regarding their grievances” since they were raised earlier in the year.

“Through its meeting with AUSPS, the USP management has resolved some of the matters raised in the log of claims while discussion continued on the remaining issues.”

The university said that in October 2022, all USP staff received salary increments and the second increase kicked in in January 2023.

“Staff also received a bonus in the middle of the year (2023). Negotiations are continuing, and provisions have been made for another salary increase next year, subject to the Council approving our 2024 budget.”

The USP said the chair of the USP Council approved the council agenda, “and the USP management does not have a say in the matter”.

“As stated several times previously, the vice-chancellor’s relocation is decided by the council.

“The institution, as always, supports union rights and acknowledges that a peaceful protest is within its ambit.

“However, we remain hopeful that through USP management, we can continue to have discussions with the AUSPS about their grievances and follow proper channels to meet their demands until an amicable solution is reached,” it said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The University of the South Pacific is expected to receive the first instalment of the promised $10 million part payment of owed grants soon.

Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said this was a show of the coalition government’s commitment to restoring Fiji’s outstanding grant contributions since 2019.

It is understood that by June this year, the total grant to be paid to USP would reach $116 million.

Rabuka made the comment during a moving thanksgiving service at USP’s Laucala campus this week to mark the return of exiled vice-chancellor and president Professor Pal Ahluwalia to Fiji.

Since 2019, the previous government under FijiFirst remained steadfast in its decision to withhold grant contributions to USP until independent investigations into alleged mismanagement by Professor Ahluwalia were carried out, ultimately leading to the professor and his wife Sandra’s deportation from Fiji.

Professor Ahluwalia, who has since been operating in exile from USP’s Samoa campus, was offered an invitation by Rabuka to return to Fiji, a move that has gained widespread support from USP students and staff.

“The power of one vote on the floor of Parliament made it possible for me to sit as Prime Minister in Parliament and cabinet, and allowed me and Fiji to say to Pal Ahluwalia to come home, come back,” Rabuka said.

‘Fiji did it to you’
“I want to apologise to you, very simple. It doesn’t matter who did it. As far as the world is concerned, Fiji did it to you,” Rabuka said.

“Now, I am Fiji by the power of one vote. We’ve corrected that. Thank you for agreeing to come back.

“I reiterate the USP students’ apology, we were orphaned since you left; now we have our parents back.”

The Prime Minister said USP was the best example of regional cooperation, breaking new ground in bringing people together, not only from the Pacific but within Fiji.

In accepting the apology, Professor Ahluwalia said the thanksgiving service was a day to celebrate and expressed his appreciation to the Prime Minister and Deputy PM for their support and commitment to the regional university.

“After 107 weeks of exile, I never thought I would see the day I get to thank my staff and students in person,” he said.

“I am overwhelmed by the heart of the university, our students, for standing by me, our staff; how do I thank people who sacrificed without expecting anything in return.

Beacons for education
“Universities have to become beacons for education and to speak truth to power. I am here, I am here to serve you and the nation.”

USP pro-chancellor and chair of the USP Council Hilda Heine expressed her gratitude to Rabuka for allowing Professor Ahluwalia to return to Fiji and for providing assurances and support towards the region’s premier institution.

She also acknowledged Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa for hosting the vice-chancellor and his family in Samoa since January last year, and Nauru’s Deputy Speaker of Parliament and former president Lionel Aingimea and the government of Nauru for hosting the vice-chancellor following his removal from Fiji in February 2021.

Geraldine Panapasa is editor-in-chief of the University of the South Pacific’s journalism newspaper and website Wansolwara News. Republished in collaboration with the USP journalism programme.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

While some women at the University of the South Pacific’s 14 campuses found working from home enjoyable during the covid-19 pandemic, others felt isolated, had overwhelming mental challenges and some experienced domestic violence, a Pacific survey has found.

Titled “University Women Remote Work Challenges”, the survey was funded by the Council of Pacific Education (COPE) and was supported by the Association of the University of the South Pacific staff (AUSPS)

The research report, released last month, was conducted by Dr Hilary Smith (an honorary affiliate researcher at the Australian National University and Massey University) for the women’s wing of AUSPS.

“This survey confirms that many of our university women had support from their family networks while on Work From Home, but others were left feeling very isolated,” said Rosalie Fatiaki, chair of the AUSPS women’s wing.

“Women with young children had a lot to juggle, and those who rely on the internet for work had particular frustrations — some had to wait until after midnight to get a strong enough signal,” she said.

Around 30 percent of respondents reported having developed covid-19 during the Work From Home periods, and 57 percent had lost a family member or close friend to covid-19 as well as co-morbidities.

In the survey there was also evidence of the “shadow pandemic” of domestic abuse and although the reported levels were low, it was likely the real incidence was much higher, said Dr Smith.

‘Feelings of shame’
“That was because of the feelings of shame (reporting domestic violence). In the Pacific Islands families and communities tend to be very close-knit groupings,” Dr Smith said.

Only two of the 14 USP campuses in 12 Pacific countries avoided any covid-19 closures between 2020 and 2022 — the shortest closure was two days in Tokelau and the longest at the three Fijian campuses of Laucala, Lautoka and Labasa lasting 161 days.

There had been no cases on the Tuvalu campus until the second quarter of this year.

“For women who had older children they said they enjoyed the time with their families,” Dr Smith said.

“And it was more difficult for those with young families,” she said.

She stressed the importance of being careful with the survey in relation to domestic violence.

“With this kind of survey, we had to be a little bit careful. We can’t say we got evidence of how much there is because it is a very tricky thing to survey and especially in this kind of survey,” Dr Smith said.

‘Sensitive issue’
“And because it is a sensitive issue and people tend not to identify and it is something that people tend to be ashamed about pretty much.

“The survey was totally confidential, and we set it up so no one would who the respondents were.

“It was impossible to find out through the ANU programme we used.

“But the fact people did give some evidence then I think that we know that it is actually quite significant, and we assumed that the prevalence was quite higher.”

She said that she was not saying there were more incidents, but from media reports, particularly in Fiji, she had suspicions that it was higher than reported in the survey.

“We were responding to the fact that there were other news reports in Fiji we referenced, and there has been the other report by the UN (United Nations) women about it,” she said.

The report “Measuring the Shadow Pandemic – violence against women during Covid-19” was released by the UN in December 2021 and the Violence Against Women Rapid Gender Assessments (VAW RGA) were implemented in 13 countries spanning all regions — Albania, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Nigeria, Paraguay, Thailand and Ukraine.

There was general support of national statistical offices (NSOs) or national women’s groups and funding from the policy and Melinda Gates Foundation, which found an incidence of 40 percent of reported domestic violence.

‘There in Pacific”
“So, we weren’t saying that it was more than in other countries, but we were saying it was there in the Pacific.

“It could be more, or it could be less but because the evidence had been already highlighted in Fiji, we were just picking up on that.”

AUSPS had specifically asked for it to be followed up because of “widespread murmuring” that domestic violence was occurring.

“My colleagues at USP had indicated they wanted to follow it up because they had heard that it was an issue for some women,” Dr Smith said.

In her recommendations she had suggested counselling for women and a safe space on campus, but she was unsure if it would be acted on.

Limited counselling
There was limited counselling available already and some had suggested that it should be done through religious denominations, she said.

She said internationally people had struggled with mental health issues during the pandemic, so it was common to all communities.

“There was a relatively high incidence in Fiji, and we reported the findings from the survey,” Dr Smith said.

Among the recommendations for support during isolation was the setting up of a helpline and regular calls from senior personnel and support staff.

She said even if this pandemic had passed there were other events like natural disasters, politics, and wars to be mindful of.

“Human-made or nature-made or the prevalence of other pandemics, we are basically saying the university should be prepared,” Dr Smith said.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz