The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has given the federal government a 14-day ultimatum to address its long-standing demands or face the risk of a fresh strike that could cripple academic activities in public universities across Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by President Professor Emmanuel Osodoke, the union accused the government of failing to honour its agreements, some of which date back to 2009.
Their key demands include the immediate payment of withheld salaries from the 2022 strike action, finalisation of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement based on the Nimi Briggs Committee’s 2021 Draft Agreement, and the release of unpaid salaries for staff on sabbatical, part-time, and adjunct appointments, which have been impacted by the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
The union is also calling for the settlement of outstanding third-party deductions, including check-off dues and cooperative contributions.
The academic union emphasised that the government must take concrete steps to resolve the issues within the next two weeks or risk an industrial action. According to the union, “If its demands are not satisfactorily met, its members will embark on strike, which would cripple academic activities in the nation’s public universities.”
In its latest statement, ASUU provided a stern warning, giving the federal government an additional 14 days beyond the initial 21-day grace period, starting from Monday, September 23, 2024. ASUU cautioned, “The union should not be held responsible for any industrial disharmony that arises from the government’s failure to seize the new opportunity offered by ASUU to nip the looming crisis in the bud.”
Among other demands, ASUU is calling for proper funding of public universities, as partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government Budget, and the payment of Earned Academic Allowances for academic staff. The union also criticized the proliferation of universities by federal and state governments without adequate resources and called for the implementation of visitation panel reports to universities.
ASUU has also reiterated its demand for reversing the illegal dissolution of university governing councils and replacing the IPPIS with the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), which ASUU argues is more suited for university payroll management.
According to Legal Linkz, the outcome of these negotiations could have far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s higher education sector. The legal and academic communities are closely monitoring the government’s response to avoid another protracted strike that could disrupt academic calendars.
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