Strike: ASUU Shuns Meeting with FG, Awaits Response on Counter Offer


Image result for asuu strike
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has pulled out from the scheduled meeting with the federal government to resolve the ongoing strike that has paralysed academic activities in the nation's tertiary institutions, until a response for its counter offers.

The Deputy Director (Press) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Samuel Olowookere, had late last Monday announced that there would be a meeting with ASUU and relevant stakeholders to be coordinated by  the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige.

Others who were expected at the meeting were the Ministers of Education and Finance, Mallam Adamu Adamu and Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; the Chairman, National Income Salaries and Wages Commission, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC) and the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba.

But the ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, in a statement, said the union would suspend further meetings with the federal government until it receives a reply to their proposal detailing their new offer on the way out of the protracted industrial action.

Ogunyemi said that last Thursday, ASUU leadership met with officials of the Ministries of Education and Labour and Employment where it was agreed that the union should consult and "revert to government."

He said following due consultations, the union had collated the views of their members on the offers from government in dispute in the letter of August 16, 2017.

According to him, these views were submitted to the federal government vide their letter dated August 28, 2017.

According to him, "Members of ASUU were forced to proceed on indefinite, comprehensive and total strike on August 13, 2017, following government failure to implement issues on which understanding was reached during the suspended warning strike of November 2016.

"We have since held talks with representatives of government and consulted our members nationwide on steps to be taken to immediately resolve the lingering crisis. Among issues in the dispute are registration of Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company (NUPEMCO), fractionalisation of salaries in federal universities and gross under funding/non funding of state universities and arrears and implementation of Earned Academic Allowance.
“Other issues are the release of fund for revitalisation of public universities as spelt out in the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), guidelines for retirement benefits of professors in line with 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement, Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the withdrawal of support for universities staff primary schools.

"As we await the federal government action in our letter, we hope that it would not be long before we receive a positive response which will bring an end to the dispute. Meanwhile, we thank all Nigerians, particularly our students (and their parents) and the media, for their understanding so far in the need to speedily address the issues in the best interest of the Nigerian university system and for the overall development of the country."

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