•As FG reneges on deal with lecturers
By GABRIEL DIKE and ADESINA OLANREWAJU
Eighteen months after it suspended an industrial action over the implementation of some aspects of the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday directed its members nationwide to down tools immediately.
The National President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, told reporters on phone that the decision to embark on the strike was taken at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting which held at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State from Friday till yesterday morning.
He said the decision of NEC to go on strike would be communicated to the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, while branch chairmen are expected to do same with their university managements.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos to clarify the issues, UNILAG branch Chairman, Dr. Karo Ogbinaka, said government failed to implement some aspects of the 2009 deal while series of meetings with its officials did not yield results.
He recalled that in January 2012, ASUU suspended an industrial action on same issues and had since held series of meetings with government, adding, “when the strike was suspended one-and-half years ago, there was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the outstanding issues”.
Meanwhile, Ogbinaka gave reasons for the industrial action to include non-payment of several allowances for academic staff nationwide since 2009 such as Academic Earned Allowance, made up of excess workload, responsibility allowances N12,000 and project supervision which include Ph.D and Masters N15,000.
According to him, since 2009 and when ASUU signed the MoU with government, no lecturer had been paid any allowances for jobs done and that at a NEC meeting, 51 out of 53 branches voted for an indefinite.
The ASUU UNILAG boss explained that government at a meeting came up with refresh position on the non-payment of the approved allowances, adding, “government officials informed our leaders that they forgot to include ASUU demands in the current budget”.
His words: “The Federal Government reneged on the signed MoU with the union. By ASUU Convention, 51 out of 53 voted for indefinite strike, so the majority carried the day. The strike is immediate. We have been interacting with government without any positive result and even embarked on a warning strike in December 2011 which we suspended in January 2012.
“Since 2009, forms were given to our members to fill to know the financial implication and later we were told that N4biillion was available. The current position of government is that they can only pay one-eighth of the 80 per cent they agreed to pay. Our members rejected the government’s position. Taking referendum for the strike was needless because we suspended a strike on the same issues.
Most members felt insulted by the new government position”. He said UNILAG would comply with NEC’s directive and that its management would be informed of the strike, noting that even though the industrial action is immediate, hopefully by tomorrow (Tuesday), academic activities would be paralyzed.
On funding aspect of the agreement, Ogbinaka said that they visited the universities to appraise things, stressing that higher institutions are underfunded. Across the country now, students are protesting vice chancellors’ imposition of some sundry fees. The money they promised to inject into tertiary institutions is N100billion”.
The Chairman of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife branch, Prof Peter Akinola, told Daily Sun that his members would commence the strike immediately after congress and the management would be informed. Some of UNILAG students expressed surprise at the sudden turn of events, appealing to the Federal Government to address the demands of ASUU to avert a prolonged strike.
A student of University of Ibadan (UI), Olaniyan (Surname withheld) said that postgraduate students of Faculties of Education, Arts, Sciences were preparing for their examinations, “but suddenly, they announced that our examinations will no longer hold, we pleaded for the officials to allow us write today’s examinations’, but they refused, after we have read overnight, burning candles, they put us under unnecessary pressure and suspense”, he said.
Segun Ogundiran, a 400 level Education student, while condemning the strike, noted that “ whatever the demands of ASUU and no matter how genuine the struggle is, ASUU should know that strike is not the only solution to the problem.”
A source at the UI ASUU secretariat who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “ASUU is pressing its demands, as we believe university education in the country has been in a mess despite the huge returns from crude oil.”
By GABRIEL DIKE and ADESINA OLANREWAJU
Eighteen months after it suspended an industrial action over the implementation of some aspects of the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday directed its members nationwide to down tools immediately.
The National President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, told reporters on phone that the decision to embark on the strike was taken at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting which held at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State from Friday till yesterday morning.
He said the decision of NEC to go on strike would be communicated to the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, while branch chairmen are expected to do same with their university managements.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos to clarify the issues, UNILAG branch Chairman, Dr. Karo Ogbinaka, said government failed to implement some aspects of the 2009 deal while series of meetings with its officials did not yield results.
He recalled that in January 2012, ASUU suspended an industrial action on same issues and had since held series of meetings with government, adding, “when the strike was suspended one-and-half years ago, there was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the outstanding issues”.
Meanwhile, Ogbinaka gave reasons for the industrial action to include non-payment of several allowances for academic staff nationwide since 2009 such as Academic Earned Allowance, made up of excess workload, responsibility allowances N12,000 and project supervision which include Ph.D and Masters N15,000.
According to him, since 2009 and when ASUU signed the MoU with government, no lecturer had been paid any allowances for jobs done and that at a NEC meeting, 51 out of 53 branches voted for an indefinite.
The ASUU UNILAG boss explained that government at a meeting came up with refresh position on the non-payment of the approved allowances, adding, “government officials informed our leaders that they forgot to include ASUU demands in the current budget”.
His words: “The Federal Government reneged on the signed MoU with the union. By ASUU Convention, 51 out of 53 voted for indefinite strike, so the majority carried the day. The strike is immediate. We have been interacting with government without any positive result and even embarked on a warning strike in December 2011 which we suspended in January 2012.
“Since 2009, forms were given to our members to fill to know the financial implication and later we were told that N4biillion was available. The current position of government is that they can only pay one-eighth of the 80 per cent they agreed to pay. Our members rejected the government’s position. Taking referendum for the strike was needless because we suspended a strike on the same issues.
Most members felt insulted by the new government position”. He said UNILAG would comply with NEC’s directive and that its management would be informed of the strike, noting that even though the industrial action is immediate, hopefully by tomorrow (Tuesday), academic activities would be paralyzed.
On funding aspect of the agreement, Ogbinaka said that they visited the universities to appraise things, stressing that higher institutions are underfunded. Across the country now, students are protesting vice chancellors’ imposition of some sundry fees. The money they promised to inject into tertiary institutions is N100billion”.
The Chairman of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife branch, Prof Peter Akinola, told Daily Sun that his members would commence the strike immediately after congress and the management would be informed. Some of UNILAG students expressed surprise at the sudden turn of events, appealing to the Federal Government to address the demands of ASUU to avert a prolonged strike.
A student of University of Ibadan (UI), Olaniyan (Surname withheld) said that postgraduate students of Faculties of Education, Arts, Sciences were preparing for their examinations, “but suddenly, they announced that our examinations will no longer hold, we pleaded for the officials to allow us write today’s examinations’, but they refused, after we have read overnight, burning candles, they put us under unnecessary pressure and suspense”, he said.
Segun Ogundiran, a 400 level Education student, while condemning the strike, noted that “ whatever the demands of ASUU and no matter how genuine the struggle is, ASUU should know that strike is not the only solution to the problem.”
A source at the UI ASUU secretariat who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “ASUU is pressing its demands, as we believe university education in the country has been in a mess despite the huge returns from crude oil.”
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