Sounds like they are being rewarded for the thing they did wrong. That is, they are being given "credit" for "time served" for the time they were doing the protest, which is the very thing they did wrong that warranted the sanction.
Am I missing something, or does that sound like Bizzaro World?
Instead of punishing them with four days of unpaid suspension, they’re going to not pay them for the four days they voluntarily weren’t there, and call that the unpaid suspension. Hey, if I rob a bank and get caught, I’ll just give the money back, and we’ll call the few days I spent in hiding to avoid getting caught my time served.