Hajiji, who is chairman of Sabah Foundation which owns UCSF, said he would also call foundation director Ghulam Haidar Khan Bahadar to be part of the discussion.
“We know the plight faced by the workers especially during this Ramadan month … we will look into this matter,” he told reporters after an event in Sepanggar near here today.
As to whether the state government would restore the college workers’ full salary, which the previous Warisan government did, Hajiji said: “We will take the appropriate action.
“What is important is that I find out why this (pay cut) happened, and we will solve it.”
Yesterday, a spokesperson for the 146 college staff affected by the pay cut said they received only half of their salaries since September 2020, and requested the Sabah government to intervene.
The staff first received an internal memo in June 2020 from UCSF vice-chancellor Mohamed Haleem Mohamed Razi announcing a temporary austerity measure in light of a plunge in student intake for the April semester.
The spokesperson, who requested anonymity, said the previous Warisan-led state government halted the pay cut scheme a month later.
Former chief minister Shafie Apdal had in June last year ordered a revamp of the UCSF management following its move to cut staff salaries and reduce working hours.
Shafie also ordered the institution to halt the pay cuts, saying there should be no pay cuts and retrenchments despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
The spokesperson said the staff received their full salary from June to August, but in September, after the Sabah election when Warisan lost to the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah coalition, the pay cut was reimposed, and they received half their pay.
Under the cost-cutting scheme detailed in the June 2020 memo, staff would be subject to a 50% pay cut with working hours reduced to 20 per week, or three days a week.
On the salary payment delay involving about 2,000 workers of Sabah Forest Industries Sdn Bhd, Hajiji said the state government will also look into their predicament.
“We will pay their salaries this month especially since we will celebrate Hari Raya soon,” he said.