FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACTION ON THE LINGERING ASUU STRIKE
It`s no news that all government universities in the most
populous black nation also called the giant of Africa is on strike. Many well-meaning Nigerians have urged the
students to start learning vocational skills as they are now idle at home.
The Nigerian Minister
of labor, employment, and Productions during the last week of May 2022, pleaded with ASUU to suspend their lingering
strike. He made this appeal to ASUU so
that academic activities will resume in public universities across the country.
Minister Chris Ngige made this appeal during a press conference about the
lingering strike in the nation's capital Abuja.
He added that the government has started to pay the arrears of the
minimum wage of both university and polytechnic lecturers across the
country.
The lecturers went on
strike because of their revitalization and welfare payment and the
implementation of their 2009 agreement with the federal government has not been
implemented. According to Chris Ngige,
the government will spend 34 billion Naira to pay the minimum wage arrears which
they have already kick-started in both polytechnic and university lecturers.
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ALSO – WHY IS THE GOVERNMENT UNABLE TO END THE ASUU STRIKE
News men were
briefed that university lecturers will get 23.5 billion Naira, Polytechnic
lecturers will get 6 billion naira and the colleges of education will get 4
billion Naira. According to Chris Nigige, the National Information Technology
Development Agency will soon start testing the three payment platforms by
Thursday. This includes the government
Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), The University
Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) of ASUU, and the Universities
Peculiar Personnel Payroll System (UPPPS) for the non-teaching staff. One of
the issues that many as described as irreconcilable between the government and
ASUU is the issue of the payment system.
The minister also
added that the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) has issued an amendment to the circulars and
that the government has intensified effort to ensure wage adjustment for
lecturers. He also added that Prof. Briggs's committee is holding
talks with the university unions and their employer the federal Ministry of
Education.
He further stated that after the discussion they
came up with a suggestion for government to see and base their decisions on.
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