By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THE University of The Bahamas (UB) and the Union of Tertiary Educators of The Bahamas (UTEB) say they have resolved outstanding disputes over faculty credential alignment and course assignments, hours after union members staged a demonstration outside the campus.

In a joint statement, both sides said: “We are pleased to announce that both sides have successfully resolved the outstanding issues and formal letters are being issued to faculty members affected by this evening. Both parties have also agreed on the schedule of course overloads for faculty who have agreed to teach.”

The agreement followed a protest by UTEB, which had accused UB of failing to act on commitments made to faculty.

Daniel Thompson, UTEB president, told reporters during the demonstration that members were frustrated by delays. “We have not been having action on what we agreed. We have now we in the second week of the semester, and in this second week, we still have things that are not been fulfilled as the university promised,” he said.

He added: “The university we’re talking, we’re dialoguing, but their lack of putting pen or putting into action, putting their money where their mouth is, has resulted in our professors being highly disrespected, highly marginalized and highly dishonored, highly disadvantaged.”

Mr Thompson said the dispute stemmed from changes linked to UB’s accreditation process. He criticised the former president, Janyne Hodder, accusing her of making policy changes in April without consultation.

“She’s very much to blame for this mess that we’re in because she engaged in clandestine activities, in making changes, hiring people that were not advertised, appointing and promoting persons. Now Blaine is now faced with this mess,” he said.

He argued that the changes left some faculty misaligned with their qualifications. “In other words, if your area is in a particular area, their assessment says you should be in another area,” he said.

While acknowledging consistent dialogue with current president Dr Robert Blaine, Mr Thompson alleged there were “rogue elements” in the administration undermining progress.

“While there’s only a small percentage of our people impacted, if you touch one, you touch all. All of them are UTEB members,” he said.

“What we know from our interaction with the institution that we’re getting mixed signals. On one end, we’re talking and agreeing to certain things, and then when we wait, it’s never been done. So I can only conclude that there’s some breakdown in communication in that administration, and the president needs to get his hand on that problem. I don’t know exactly where it is. I can’t say definitively who it is, but it exists because after two weeks of discussion, our letters have not been provided to our members, and they are feeling it.”