At the 13th Biennial Delegates Conference hosted this week at the Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU) headquarters in Roseau, union president Steve Joseph has issued an urgent call for the immediate settlement of a slew of unresolved grievances affecting staff at the Dominica State College (DSC), warning that lingering gridlock on these matters threatens the institution’s ability to deliver quality education to students.
Joseph outlined that the outstanding disputes date back years, ranging from a long-delayed job reclassification process for college staff to incomplete structural repairs on key sections of the campus building and un-finalized infrastructure development projects. Most critically, he noted, talks to sign a binding collective agreement between the union and the institution have dragged on without closure, creating persistent uncertainty for DSC employees.
“When our staff are preoccupied with these unaddressed concerns, how can we expect them to bring clear, focused focus to supporting our student body?” Joseph told conference delegates. “These problems demand swift resolution, and we must work to bring all ongoing negotiations to a definitive conclusion without further delay.”
Beyond operational and staffing issues, a core point of contention raised by Joseph centers on the legal authority of the DSC Board of Governors. While the board is formally designated as DSC’s “supreme executive body” and all members are appointed by the Ministry of Education, Joseph argues the government retains undue veto power over key institutional decisions, stripping the governing board of its ability to act independently on operational matters.
To fix this structural imbalance, Joseph laid out two clear policy options: either amend the existing State College Act to grant the board full, unfettered autonomy to govern the college without government interference, or reverse the institutional split and bring DSC staff back under the direct umbrella of the public service. “If you are going to create an independent governing board, empower it to actually make independent decisions,” he explained. “If the central government is going to hold onto veto power over every major decision that impacts how the college runs, then we need to change the law and re-integrate DSC staff into the public service framework.”
Joseph closed by emphasizing that the issue is too consequential to ignore, and he hopes all relevant stakeholders will come to the table for open, constructive dialogue to reach a mutually acceptable resolution.