Marwan (left) holding the banner with several of his colleagues who were present during the press conference demanding the resignation of Dr Mohamed and Datuk KY Mustafa.
KOTA KINABALU: The staff of University Sabah College Foundation (UCSF) have demanded the resignation of the university’s Vice Chancellor Dr Mohamed Haleem Mohamed Razi.
A total of 82 of the university’s staff have signed a petition to urge Dr Mohamed to step down due his alleged failure in managing the university.
On top of that, the group is also demanding the resignation of Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Corporate and Business Development) Dr Alan Lim Vui Tze and Board of Directors chairman Datuk KY Mustafa
UCSF has been embroiled in controversy due to its pay cut dilemma since since 2020.
It is understood that the affected staff had brought the issue to the Labour Court this year and subsequently won in July.
The court ruled that UCSF must pay them a total of RM94,709.35, representing accumulated salaries deducted between October and December last year.
However, UCSF is now bringing the case to the High Court – a decision which has made the plight of the affected staff even more complicated.
Marwan Masran, who earns RM1,200 a month as the university’s technician, said the issue had not only affected the finances of the staff but also their mental health.
“Our employer has brought the case to the High Court. This has affected our mental health because now we have to pay legal fees.
“Most of the employees involved are unable to afford the legal fees,” he said in a press conference at the university’s compounds on Saturday.
While the full wages of the staff were reinstated after March this year, Marwan pointed out that the staff are still burdened by the debts they accumulated when their salaries were first cut in October 2020.
“Ever since Dr Mohamed arrived in UCSF, the welfare of the staff and students was not taken care of. The were no developments. In fact, we went backwards,” he said.
He added that the staff had also lost their medical benefits since 2018.
“They (employer) never asked us about our welfare,” Marwan lamented.
The staff are also seeking assistance from assemblymen and politicians.
“We have brought our issue to the Yayasan Sabah but we have yet to see any action taken from them,” Marwan revealed.
He also said that the university had laid off several of its staff since 2020.
The Sabah Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has also urged the state government to intervene in the salary dispute between the workers and university college.
Its secretary, Catherine Jikunan, who represented the group in the court hearing, was disappointed by UCSF’s decision to prolong the workers’ ordeal by going to a higher court.
She said most of them were in the B40 income group and “some are merely earning the minimum wage of RM1,200 per month” and would not have the funds to hire lawyers.
“I appeal to the state government to intervene in this matter and direct UCSF to pay the amount set by the labour court,” she said.
Catherine also urged UCSF to reconsider its decision and settle the matter as directed by the court.