ASUU STRIKE: Go back to work, or we won't pay you. FG

The Federal Government’s patience seems to
have run out with the Academic Staff
Union of Universities (ASUU) as it has
decided to wield the big stick on its
members threatening to invoke the no-
work-no-pay policy to force the striking
lecturers back to work.
Secretary to Government of the Federation,
Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, on Friday
ordered the striking university lecturers to
return to their duty posts while the pending
issues were being resolved. He also directed
all the governing councils of the various
universities to open the gates of the
institutions to students as from next week.
The directives followed the inability of both
parties (FG and ASUU) to reach a definite
agreement on the issue earned allowances
to university workers after about two
months of dialogue and negotiations and the
threat by the union to discontinue talks
with government.
ASUU began its current strike on July 1
following failure of government to
implement a 2009 agreement between the
two parties on public universities funding.
Anyim gave the directives at a meeting with
the chairmen of the councils and vice-
chancellors in Abuja on Friday.
The Federal Government on the occasion
also disbursed the N30 billion it provided to
support the councils for the payment of
academic earned allowances to lecturers.
Anyim said this was in addition to the N100
billion provided by the government to
address the challenges of infrastructural
deficit in the system.
He said: “Mr. President is fully committed
to bringing the students back to school and
appreciates the patience of parents and
students as government is making every
effort to revitalise the university system.
“By this demonstration of clear commitment
to revitalise the university system,
government hereby urges every (member of)
staff of the nation’s universities to return to
work as all issues are being resolved.
“With particular reference to the
contentious issue of earned allowances,
every (member of) staff of the universities
that is so entitled should verify his claim
with his university council and accordingly
get paid,” he said.
ASUU had on Thursday foreclosed further
talks with the Federal Government
negotiation team, an indication of a total
collapse of negotiations.
SGF said the Earned Allowances was the
major issue in dispute, adding that
traditionally, universities pay deserving
staff but “because of the amount that ASUU
now claims as arrears, government decided
to assist the university councils to pay.”
He said the Federal Government did not
receive any computation of amount
involved until February, 2013 and that
ASUU demanded for an outrageous sum of
N92 billion arrears for three years’
payment based on percentage range of
between 15 and 20 of personnel cost.
The Minister of Education, Professor
Rugayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, also said that
ASUU actually went on strike over the
initial offer of five per cent of personnel
cost of the entire university staff.
She said that government had addressed all
other issues raised by the union for them to
call off the strike. She maintained that
government had no money to pay the N92
billion academic Earned Allowances
requested by ASUU, insisting that it was not
feasible in view of the current state of the
nation’s economy.
Anyim further said: “After series of
discussions involving the National
Assembly; the SGF; the Chairman of the
Needs Assessment Report Implementation
Committee, Governor Gabriel Suswam; the
ministers of Education, Labour; and the
Coordinating Minister for the Economy and
other stakeholders, government has now
provided N30 billion to support the
university councils in settling the Earned
Allowances.”
He said all other issues of Consolidated
Salary Structure for Academics in Nigerian
Universities (CONUASS II), amendment of
Pensionable Retirement Age of Academics in
the Professorial Cadre to 70 years have been
fully implemented.
Anyim said most of the issues contained in
the 2009 agreement, which necessitated the
current strike, have been fully met, except
for the Earned Allowances, which ASUU
pegged at N92 billion.
He said, “On July 2nd, 2013, ASUU declared
what it called, ‘total and indefinite strike’
over issues it says have remained
unresolved pertaining to an agreement it
reached with government in 2009. It is
pertinent to narrate the genesis of the 2009
agreement. ASUU went on strike action in
2006 based on their request for a review of
personnel matters, on account of this,
government initiated a Needs Assessment of
the University system comprising federal
and state universities. The negotiations led
to the 2009 agreement.
“Some of the issues which bothered on
amendment of pensionable retirement age of
academics in the professorial cadre;
consolidated peculiar allowances
(CONPUAA), exclusively for university
teaching staff; National Health Insurance
Scheme (NHIS); setting up of budget
monitoring committee in all public
universities have been fully implemented.”
He said the Federal Government had
explained why ASUU’s demands concerning
the transfer of Federal Government landed
property to universities would not be
possible to implement.
“Government has been clear that it cannot
transfer government’s landed property to
ASUU because it has no structure to manage
or maintain such property.
Government is, however, willing to support
any council that sets up a property
company with management structure to
compete with others in the industry,” he
stated.
In a related development, the Minister of
Education, Ruqayyatu Rufa’I, at the event in
Abuja, said she expected ASUU to suspend
the strike going by the latest action of
government.
She said the situation had generated so
much anxiety on the part of students,
parents and government, and that
negotiations on the remaining issues could
continue.
“Government is ready to implement all the
recommendations, particularly as it relates
to revitalisation of the universities system. I
want to assure you that this will be done in
the next few years.
The Minister of Labour and Productivity,
Chief Emeka Wogu; Chairman, Senate
Committee on Education, Senator Uche
Chukwumerije; and the Chairman, House
Committee on Education, Honourable
Aminu Suleiman, all attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, efforts to get the reaction of
ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Isa Fagge, on the
development were unsuccessful as his
mobile phone line was ‘unreachable’.
Excerpted from Nigerian Tribune