Academic staff at the University of Technology (UTECH) will suspend industrial action as of tomorrow Wednesday, May 8, pending the outcome of a meeting scheduled for Friday.

The University of Technology Academic Staff Union (UTASU) says it has accepted an invitation from the management of the university to accompany members to a meeting with the Ministry of Finance at 4:00 p.m.  Friday, May 10.

In a statement this afternoon (May 7) the union says the UTECH management and the Finance Ministry are expected to discuss an increase in the government’s subvention to the institution.

UTASU says in accordance with accepted industrial relations practice, and in good faith, it would suspend the strike.

Academic staff at UTECH ceased all work-related activities and assignments on May 1, to press demands for the implementation of a salary adjustment agreed to in a 2015/17 heads of agreement and signed by the Finance and Education Ministries and the management of the university.

The academic staff union says it has exhausted all reasonable avenues to resolve the decades-old issue and finds it unreasonable to ask its members to continue to function if the matter remained unresolved.