Pay us living wage within 8 days or we kick indefinite strike, ASUU

 

By Okechukwu Onuegbu

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has warned the federal government to pay lecturers living wage within the remaining days of the one month window period given to them.

The Owerri Zonal leadership of ASUU stated this at a press conference held in Awka, Anambra State capital, enjoined the civil society members, media, NLC and other stakeholders to support in making the government hearken to their demands.

The Zonal Coordinator, Owerri Zone, Professor Dennis Aribodor, said the zone which comprises Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Imo State University (IMSU) Owerri, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU) and Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka, needed their demands to be attended to in order to avoid the resumption of the suspended strike.

"ASUU Owerri Zone is therefore calling on all stakeholders including traditional rulers, religious leaders, students, the NLC, media and the civil society to urge government to do the right things and give lecturers a living wage within the remaining days of the one month window period.

" ASUU Owerri Zone also expects 100% payment of all outstanding arrears including 25-35% wage award, three and half months withheld salaries, promotion arrears and third party deductions. Nigeria Government should not be comfortable with lecturers being on the same salary for 16 years with all the devaluations and inflation," he added.

According to him, the surest way to protect the future of our country was to invest adequately in education for public good because education as the bedrock of any society deserves special attention in Nigeria given its infrastructural deficit.

"The part payment of promotion arrears dating as far back to 2017, the release of third party deductions, which are part of members salaries for years are mere confidence measures, and must not be construed as the substantial issues of the negotiation process. The framing of government's implementation is not the true reflection of the reality and this strategy portends great danger to the renegotiation as it casts doubt to the sincerity of government.

"ASUU Owerri Zone, regrettably, has observed with consternation, government’s continuous failure to prioritise education as it perceives education as commercial good that must be self sustaining instead of a social good that can guarantee peace, progress and national development. The Zone further reviewed the progress made in the renegotiation process since the suspension of the warning strike over two weeks ago and rejected the proposed salary increment, which we consider as an insult to Nigerian university academic staff.

"The proposal is not capable of bringing out the best among university lecturers and cannot reverse the perennial brain drain syndrome, which has devastated our universities for decades. The salary and conditions of service components of the renegotiation process remain a sore point that needs a radical approach to stem the tide in the system," he stated.