The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Tuesday embarked on a protest rally within the institution’s premises over nonpayment of members’ salaries, insisting its demands are legitimate and patriotic.
The branch chairman, Dr. Ibrahim Inuwa, while briefing journalists at the end of the rally, stated clearly that, ASUU would continue to defend the university system and the Nigerian State through all legitimate means and it will not be cowed by tyrants.
He regretted that the introduction of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) as a payment platform in the public service and its forceful implementation in federal public universities, had robbed the federal universities of their autonomy and academic freedom.
Inuwa said: “The IPPIS regime resulted in haphazard payments of staff salaries, non-payment of promotion arrears, non-implementation of promotion, mutilation of salaries, untimely retirement of staff, and to this moment caused the withholding of a lot of university staff salaries, ranging from one, two and in some cases thirteen months respectively.
“This move was challenged by the Union and the government agreed in principle to adopt an alternative platform, UTAS (University Transparency & Accountability Solution), developed by the Union at no cost to the government. However, in the normal antics of the Nigerian government, the Unions’ payment platform is far from seeing the light of the day, even after being subjected to series of tests by the government.
“It has become conspicuously clear to the Union that Nigerian governments are not interested in the development of Nigerian public universities to global university best practice. What is obvious is the deliberate under funding of the universities through the guise of no money, so as to subsequently introduce exorbitant school fees beyond the reach of the children of the masses, and ultimately privatize these universities to themselves.
“After suspending the 8 month old strike due to court order and interventions of well-meaning Nigerians, the government went so low to withhold salaries of ASUU members and only paid pro-rata the October salary. The Union rejects in totally the casualisation of Nigerian academics. The Union assures Nigerians that it will never be a party to destroying the country. The Union will never support the introduction of exorbitant fees beyond the reach of the children of the Nigerian down trodden neither will it be a party to privatizing Nigerian public universities.”
The ASUU chairman appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the government to as a matter of urgency and national interest, resolve all outstanding issues with ASUU for the wellbeing of the Nigerian nation so the country will take its rightful place in the globe.
“As a patriotic Union, ASUU for years has been calling on the Government both at State and Federal levels to accord the Nigerian Public Universities a befitting and conducive learning environment that will drive the nations’ wellbeing through inclusivity and global competitiveness. These were conspicuously captured in the FGN/ASUU agreement of 2009. The Union is not surprised that the Nigerian ruling class who are saddled with the responsibility of managing the country and are supposed to be at the forefront of championing the course of partnering with the academia to actualize and sustain the nations’ inclusivity and global competitiveness, are the ones’ deliberately and actively working against these feats.”
Union takes to protest
In a related development, the University of Lagos chapter of ASUU, has accused the federal government of plotting to turn lecturers into casual workers.
The union was reacting to the recent payment of half salaries to lecturers after calling off an eight-month strike.n a statement Tuesday, the UniLag branch chairman of ASUU , Dr Dele Ashiru, insisted that the rally would hold Tuesday on the campus so as to send a message to Nigerians about the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige’s position on the crisis.
The statement entitled: ‘The casualisation of intellectualism in Nigeria,’ noted that all universities that are members of ASUU would hold their protest rallies on different dates.
The union had in a statement last week, also condemned the attempt of the federal government to reduce its members to casual workers due to the half salaries its members received for the month of October.
“The action of the union was a display of manifest trust in the judiciary and other institutions and organs of government to always put national interest above all other considerations. This we believe as a union of thinkers, intellectuals, and patriots.
“Unfortunately, the response of government towards ASUU’s demonstration of trust was the so-called ‘pro-rata’ payment for eighteen days as the October 2022 salaries of academics thereby portraying them as daily paid workers.
“NEC noted with dismay that paying academics on a “pro-rata” basis, like casual workers, is unprecedented in the history of university-oriented labour relations and therefore condemned this attempt to reduce Nigerian scholars to casual workers in its entirety.”
‘Mandatory training for labour leaders’
Meanwhile, the federal government has proposed a mandatory eight-week course at the Michael Imoudu National Institute of Labour Studies (MINILS) for all newly elected labour leaders in the country.
Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige stated this Monday during the budget defence of his ministry and parastatals before the House of Representatives Committee on Labour.
A statement signed by head, Press and Public Relations, Olajide Oshundun, said the training was necessary to acquaint the labour leaders with the laws guiding trade unionism and trade dispute resolution in the country, along with the conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
He added that “the mandatory training would also enable the unions to know the limits of their powers and where the powers of their employers stop.
The minister said some union leaders were disobeying his ministry and even the labour laws of the country, because they lacked the basic training on the laws and their application.
He said: “You know a lot of people who answer labour and union leaders are not trained in the labour laws of the country, including those who are professors. They disrespect labour laws. They disrespect the labour ministry, labour committees and everybody.
“So, we want to upgrade MINILS and make it mandatory that once you are elected as comrade president or secretary general or whatever, you must go there for a course that will last not less than eight weeks, to get certificated.”
