LARKANA: The eight-day token strike being observed by teachers of the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) for the acceptance of their set of demands is very likely to be called off on Tuesday (today) as a result of talks between their leaders and the university administration held on Monday.

Both sides described the talks as ‘successful’.

Dr Abdul Hafeez Abro, president of the teachers’ association, speaking to Dawn, gave details of the negotiations and the outcome.

He said that he along with Dr Imdad Hussain Domki, general secretary of the association, held talks with Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Nusrat Shah at the SMBBMU secretariat in the presence of Prof Dr Zameer Soomro, Principal of the Chandka Medical College, Prof Amar Lal Gurbakhshani, Dean Basic Sciences, and Prof Dr Saeed Shaikh, a former registrar of the university.

Talks remain successful; formal announcement to end strike likely today

According to Dr Abro, the VC told the association that the caretaker chief minister had given his approval for convening Selection Board’s meeting very soon.

About giving time scale to the teachers serving for long in the university-affiliated institutions, she informed the association that the committee formed to weigh the proposal had favoured it and subsequently the university syndicate also gave its approval, said Dr Abro.

According to him, the VC said that teachers’ demand of ad hoc relief would be looked into as the HEC official, supposed to evaluate financial impact of such relief, was present here. “Once the exercise is over, the ad hoc relief is expected to be extended to the teachers,” Dr Abro said.

The association pressed for no cuts again in their salaries, as had been done last month, without consent of the association. The VC agreed to it, he said.

The cut in salaries had to be applied by the administration to pay off the university’s energy bill amounting to around Rs45 million, VC Prof Nusrat Shah confirmed, saying that the expenditure had suddenly emerged amid the financial crisis already being faced by the university.

Dr Abro said that the association’s demand of a forensic audit of university’s funds was also discussed and the VC advised the association to approach the appropriate forum in this regard.

The VC endorsed his statement, saying that the university could not initiate such process on its own. She said the association should approach the competent authority, i.e. chief minister’s secretariat.

It was learnt that in the light of the successful talks, the association intended to call off the two-hour token strike on Tuesday, when a team of senior professors would visit the protest camp at the Chandka Medical College.

Speaking to Dawn, VC Shah said that almost all demands of the association were agreed in principal.

She said the association should have approached her (VC) to sort out the issues before going for the protest. She said the university administration was in correspondence with the energy ministry on the issue of the bill. If the matter was settled and due relief was extended to the university, the deducted amounts would be reimbursed to the affected teachers, she said.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2023