The latest on ASUU Strike is that ASUU
has vowed to continue the strike they embarked upon in July even as the
Federal Government invokes the “No work, no pay” policy. We informed you
when we got information that Federal Government has ordered Lecturers’ salaries to be stopped
by Governing Councils. The striking lecturers have however vowed they
will continue the strike for years even if their salaries are not paid.
Check full details as reported by Premium Times:
The Academic Staff Union of
Universities, ASUU, is “unshaken” by the federal government’s recent ‘No
Work No Pay’ policy on the striking lecturers, PREMIUM TIMES has
learnt.
The federal government’s decision to
stop paying the lecturers’ salaries was confirmed by the university
lecturers after their Thursday meeting.
Rising from ASUU’s zonal conference in
Abuja on Thursday, the union responded to the ‘No Work No Pay’ strategy
by stating that it had resorted to other welfare strategies to cope with
the effects of the policy.
“The Federal Government has through the
National Universities Commission, directed universities to stop the
payment of our salaries effective September this year and since then our
salaries have not been paid,” Clement Chup, ASUU Zonal Chairman in
Abuja, said.
“Part of (our) welfare strategy, involve distributing food items, giving out soft loans and cash advances to members,” he added.
The union is currently on an over
three-month-old industrial action over the failure of the government to
implement the 2009 agreement it reached with the lecturers.
Festus Iyayi, a former ASUU President, said that the union remains resolute in the face of the government’s latest strategy.
“I can confirm that the federal
government has stopped payment of the salaries of academic staff,” Prof.
Iyayi, who led ASUU in 1986, told PREMIUM TIMES.
“This ‘get them to capitulate by
starving them’ policy has been employed by government in the past. It
did not work. Our members are ready to make whatever sacrifices are
needed to make government honour agreements,” he added.
The federal government’s latest move may have pulled the plug on negotiations between it and the striking lecturers.
The government toed a similar path
during the 2009 ASUU strike but the lecturers stuck to their guns, with
then ASUU President, Ukachukwu Awuzie, stating that “they would not
allow the issue of salaries to dampen the desire of its members to seek
fundamental changes in the Nigeria’s educational system.
Read all the latest ASUU Strike News Update here!
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