Warns of indefinite strike over 2009 pact

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the Federal Government of misleading citizens on underlying issues of the protracted strike with falsehood and cheap blackmail against the lecturers.

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, had claimed that the Federal Government had fulfilled almost all the demands of ASUU, except the six months salary arrears, which he insisted the ‘no work, no pay’ policy would take care of.

In a statement released by its Bayero University Kano (BUK) branch, yesterday, ASUU said the government’s position was a clear breach of trust to the country’s educational development.

The release jointly signed by the branch Chairman, Prof. Haruna Musa, and secretary, Kabiru Isa, lamented that instead of the government to address the contentious matters of concern, it rather resorted to use of media trial to smear the image of ASUU in the public.

According to the varsity teachers, the Federal Government should be held responsible for the shutdown of public universities in the country for its continued demonstration of insincerity and lack of commitment towards resolving the impasse.

ASUU regretted that despite intensive negotiations between ASUU and the Prof. Nimi Briggs committee, government decided to jettison the recommendations and, instead, unilaterally increased the salaries of professors and academics on other cadres with N60,000 and N30,000 respectively.

ASUU has also warned that it may go on a “total and indefinite action”, if the government does not implement the New Draft Agreement of 2009 Renegotiation committee report.

The Federal University, Dutsinma (FUDMA), Katsina State, branch of the union stated this, yesterday, while briefing newsmen on the outcome of its congress on Monday.

Chairman of branch, Dr. Jibrin Shagari, and secretary, Dr. Mzungu Ignatius, signed the statement.

The union, whose members have been on strike since February 14, 2022, had met with Federal Government over their demands, some of which government agreed to implement.

Part of what government agreed to implement include N170 billion for revitalisation of universities, payment of two tranches of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), increase of professors and junior academics’ salaries with N60,000 and N30,000 respectively, and promise to release white papers on visitation panels to universities.

But FUDMA ASUU said it viewed government’s position on the issues as “inconsiderate, in bad faith and insulting to the sensibilities of the union members.”

It said: “On renegotiation of 2009 condition of service for lecturers, there should be full implementation of the Prof. Nimi Briggs-led committee report, which is a product of collective bargaining as required by labour law.

“On University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), government should provide timeline for its deployment, as merely accepting it in principle is not enough. On EAA, the congress resolved that the two tranches proposed by government should be released immediately.” (The Guardian)

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