Crisis looms in varsities over salary structure review

•FG plans 100% increase for ASUU

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA— THERE are strong indications that the university academic calendar may be disrupted, following an alleged plan by the federal government to renegotiate with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, without carrying along the other three university-based unions.

The three are the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU; the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU; and the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT.

It was reliably gathered that the government has scheduled a meeting with ASUU for August 28 to unveil a renegotiated agreement with the union and meet the union’s deadline.

The last negotiation between the government and the university-based unions, where agreements were reached on the welfare of workers, was in 2009 and had been long overdue for a review.

The four unions had on different occasions called on the government to complete the Yahaye Ahmed-led renegotiation team and even separately threatened to go on strike if the government refused to do the needful in that regard.

Besides, ASUU had on August 21 warned the government of the serious consequences of not attending to its demands, and threatened to embark on strike if the government did not take positive actions on them.

After series of appeal to no avail, president of the union, Christopher Piwuna, in a statement, threatened the government with August 28 as the deadline.

The statement had read: “ASUU-NEC appreciates the patience and forbearance of our membership since the last referendum. But the government cannot keep the union talking forever. The general public is invited to note that ASUU has tried several ways and strategies of resolving the conflict in the education sector.

“The general public should also note that ASUU has written several letters to the FGM drawing its attention to the need to resolve the crisis amicably. Lamentably, the FGM has always turned a deaf ear to all our pleas.

“As always, it is the FGN that has consistently pushed our union to embark on a strike action and it is clear that ASUU may have no other option than to embark on an action to press the FGN to listen to our demands and do the needful.”

“For benefit of the doubt, these issues include Re-negotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, Sustainable funding of our universities, Revitalization of universities, Victimization of our colleagues in LASU, KSU(now Prince Abubakar Audu university) and FUTON, Outstanding 25-35% salary arrears, Promo arreas for over 4 years “

Recall that the bad blood generated by the sharing formula of the ¦ 50 billion Earned Allowances, released to the four university-based unions where the teaching staff were given 80 per cent of the money, and the three non-teaching unions were given 20 per cent, is yet to settle.

Infuriated by the development, the President of SSANU and Chairman of Joint Action Committee, JAC (comprising SSANU and NASU), Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, has warned the government not to try any form of disparity in the salary template that could jeopardise the relative peace within the academic environment.

Comeade Ibrahim said that while there was a uniform salary template for university workers, there were allowances that differentiated the teaching and non-teaching staff.

Speaking on the alleged plan by the federal government to unveil a renegotiated agreement with ASUU, excluding the other unions, Ibrahim said such action would not augur well with the sector.

He said: “If it is true, it is like the other case of 80/20 (Sharing formula of the ¦ 50 billion Earned Allowances released to university-based unions where the federal government gave ASUU 80 per cent of the money and the other three unions 20 per cent).

‘’The government has not met with us, and even the Yahale Ahmed team. The minister just took over their job and allocated something just to appease them. He has been bragging that ASUU cannot go on strike again.

“SSANU warns the government that any attempt to create disparity in our salaries is not going to bring peace to our system. Let there be the same salary as it has always been, but allowances differentiate us. There is a teaching allowance for the teaching staff and also an allowance for the non-teaching staff. No non-teaching staff can go and claim any allowance from the teaching staff.”

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