Two months into a nationwide strike by polytechnic institute lecturers, academic staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Monday, began a nationwide strike over alleged FG’s refusal to implement the agreement between it and also the union over unpaid entitlements, its National President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, has said.
Polytechnics lecturers also are on strike because of alleged non-implementation of agreements and lack of infrastructure in their schools.
Fagge spoke in an interview with newsmen, yesterday, at the University of lagos, UNILAG, when the union’s National council, NEC, meeting at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.
He said: “We are embarking on an indefinite strike nationwide as a result of FG refusal on the implementation of the memoranda of Understanding, MoU, signed with ASUU in 2009 to pay lecturers their EARN allowances.”
According to Fagge, Federal Government, in 2009 signed AN agreement to pay every lecturer N12,500 per month as EARN allowance, that it's not done since then.
He said: “The allowances include excess work load, high carriage of student per lecturer, responsibility allowance, starting from administrative responsibility borne by lectures for instance, as Head of Department, Deans of schools, Examination Officers, Course Advisers and direction of thesis.
“The highest any lecture gets from this allowance is N12,500 per month. the reality is that since 2009 no lecturer has been paid any allowance except his salary.”
Fagge explained that once the non-payment of allowance was dropped at the notice of FG, it said that it forgot to incorporate it within the budget and promised to make amends in subsequent however ne'er did.
Before the commencement of strike, Fagge noted that the union held many conferences with officers of the FG on the issue but regretted that government didn't take the union seriously.
He said: “We went ahead to go on a warning strike and that they never did anything to avert the industrial action.
“We had series of interaction with the FG at the national level, however to the dismay of ASUU, the govt recently came with a replacement position that they will not pay more than fifty percent of the agreed amount
“It had earlier been reduced to eighty percent by the union.
“Between Dec and January 2011, the union suspended its industrial action over ASUU/FG agreements. inside the period, the union had series of conferences with FG.
“When the strike was suspended 2 and half years ago, there was an MoU signed with the FG.
“In the MoU, the central FG to inject funds to uplift the infrastructure within the universities that it ne'er did.”
Comments
Post a Comment