FUTA ASUU protests unpaid salary arrears

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Federal University of Technology, Akure chapter, Wednesday embarked on a protest to express dissatisfaction with the invocation of the ‘no work, no pay’ policy by the federal government  after resuming from their eight-month strike embarked upon by the union.

The protest is coming after the National Working Council (NEC) of ASUU mandated each chapter to hold  protest rallies against the half salary and the non-payment of eight months salaries. 

The protesters who matched through the school senate roundabout to the North gate carried placards with various inscriptions such as, “Pay the arrears of our salaries”, “ASUU FUTA says no to criminalisation of legal strikes, casualisation of the academics in Nigeria,” “Ngige’s rascality can’t solve the problems in education sector,” ” the punitive non-work-no-pay and pro-rata salaries are merely diversionary”, “honour  NIMI BRIGGS agreement”, “Ngige  is just a minister, he can’t be greater than the president that appoints him,” among others. They chanted solidarity songs to press home their demands.

ASUU FUTA chairman, Professor Yinka Awopetu, while addressing journalists said members of the union who had declared a lecture and exam free- day for the protest are  calling on Nigerians to tell the FG that any attempt to casualise lecturers would spell doom for the university system in the country.

He said it is illegal for the federal government to have attempted at casualising the academics sector in Nigeria.

Professor Awopetu said: “The protest is to let everyone know that ASUU in general and ASUU FUTA  in particular is condemning in entirety the casualisation of academics and the criminalisation of the illegal strike.  We didn’t go on strike because we wanted to go on strike but because government failed to do its own part, so we can’t be punished for that. 

“They are owing seven and half months salary. Today is a lecture- free and exam free day, we can’t be in this congress and protest and classes will be going on. If you go on legal strike, you shouldn’t be punished for it, but we are being punished by withholding our salaries. Then paying pro-rata means we are casual workers,” he stated.