A thick cloud of uncertainty is gathering following the alleged refusal of government to pay the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) the salary for eight months covering the period of the recently suspended strike.
The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Labour and Employment, in a press statement issued by Olajide Oshundun, Head of Press and Public Relations, on Saturday said that members of ASUU were paid their October salary pro-rata, as government would not pay ASUU for work not done.
This statement laid to rest the speculation that government was only paying for some months or paying half salary as widely reported in the media.
The statement read in part: “Following the ruling of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the order of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), asking ASUU to go back to work, the leadership of the union wrote to the Minister, informing him that they have suspended the strike. The Federal Ministry of Education wrote to him in a similar vein and our labour inspectors in various states also confirmed that they have resumed work.
“So, the Minister wrote to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, directing that their salaries should be restored. They were paid in pro rata to the number of days that they worked in October, counting from the day that they suspended their industrial action. Pro-rata was done because you cannot pay them for work not done. Everybody’s hands are tied.”
With this position of government many fear that the frosty relationship between the two may further get worse.
Reacting to the plight of the lectures, Senator Shehu Sani wrote that the President is in London and he is paid. No political office holder is paid based on the days he worked. Pay University lecturers their full wages” he tweeted.
Already, the National Executive Council of the Academic Staff Union of Universities met today at the union’s headquarters at the University of Abuja.
Leaders of the union, said the lecturers would decide on the next line of action following the payment of half salary by government.
It is being reported that some branches across the country have already held congresses to decide on the next steps to take.
University of Jos, for instance, is reported to have resolved that lecturers will not attend classes pending the payment of withheld salaries by the government; and the branch at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University resolved that the 2021-2022 academic session be abolished, while the Gombe State University ASUU resolved that the examination results of students be withheld.
A member of the NEC who spoking on condition of anonymity said, “Officially, the national body did not tell branches to hold congresses but many of them started calling meetings following the receipt of half salaries from government. We don’t have to go on strike; there are lots of options available” he said.
In midst of the tensions, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, has waded in by urging members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to remain calm while he promised to assist in bringing a workable solution.
In a statement he personally signed the Speaker, he noted that efforts to find lasting solutions to the concerns frequently raised by ASUU were ongoing.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari had indicated interest to wade into the latest concerns raised by the union.
“When the ASUU called off its industrial action three weeks ago, it meant that academic activities could resume in our nation’s public universities”.
He said the executive and the House of Reps had worked to address the issues that led to the strike, adding that the House is currently working on the 2023 Appropriations Bill.
This, according to him, includes N170 billion to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of university lecturers.
He said the bill included additional N300 billion revitalisation fund to improve the infrastructure and operations of the federal universities.
“Furthermore, the House of Reps has convened the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), ASUU and other stakeholders to facilitate the adoption of elements of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS),” he stated.
He said effort are being made by the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education, Rep. Aminu Suleiman.
Gbajabiamila, however, noted that the position taken by the executive that it is not obligated to pay salaries to lecturers for the time spent on strike is premised on the law.
He said the decision was also premised on the government’s legitimate interest in preventing moral hazard and discouraging disruptive industrial actions.
Would this be enough to reassure the lecturers not to take any actions? Only time will tell.