*Says ‘No work, No pay’ policy can only worsen the situation
*Regrets that instead of trying to solve the issue, Govt is busy threatening ASUU
*Challenges FG to tell Nigerians what demands have been met from draft of collective bargain
*So far, public university lecturers nationwide have joined the 2 weeks warning strike
By Ngozi Nwankwo
Despite the threat of ‘No work, No pay policy issued to Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, by the Federal Government, all the public universities, including Abuja university have joined the on-going two-week warning strike.
ASUU , had recently, called on the federal government to address all the unmet demands all face with strike.
Faced with the frustration of non- compliance from the federal government, ASUU on Monday directed all its members to halt academic activities and proceed with industrial action.
In an interview with the ASUU President Abuja, Dr.Sylvanus Ugoh, our correspondent gathered that all the public universities are fully aware of the on-going two-week warning strike.
He said, “I don’t know any public university that has not joined the strike because it is a thing of the heart, a thing of interest. It is something long overdue and nobody really needs to be persuaded to join.”
Ugoh said the policy of “No work, No pay could only exacerbate the strike instead of solving the issues on ground.
“Instead of presenting the draft he reaches as a result of collective bargaining, the Minister of Education did not do so; he turns out his own data which is against the spirit of collective bargaining.
“It is unfortunate that instead of trying to solve the problem; he is busy threatening ASUU with no work and no pay. We are not in a state of anarchy. We expect that having come to a point where we have collective bargaining; we should focus on not giving threats to lecturers, professors whose salaries rarely carry them for one week, and lecturers who live in the charity of friends and relatives. Imagine a professor you are paying on that value of N350, 000 to N360, 000 salaries, definitely, this amount cannot take them for 30 days.
“I think what we need now is to get the problem solved and that is what Nigerians want now and I think what is most demanded of him is to show his ability to administer as the Minister. The idea of opening a register, for headcount, making lecturers to sign is old antics. This is not the first time ASUU is expressing this and ASUU is like a moving train that cannot stop until it gets to its station. The threats of “No work, No pay” can only exacerbate the issue but cannot solve it because lecturers are fed up,” he said.
While raising concern over insincerity on the part of the government, the ASUU warned that if the government failed to address all the agreements reached in the collective bargain after the two-week warning strike, the union would reconvene to press home its demands.
“Since federal government claims that it has met almost all of the Union’s demands, the Minister should, in clear terms, tell Nigerians what has been met from the draft of the collective bargain. Open the draft of the collective bargaining and read it to Nigerians and point out one by one it has been implemented from the draft,” he said.
Taking cognisance of the plight of the students during this period of the strike, the president said though there could be initial pains but the strike was necessary as it serves as a last resort where all discussions and letters have failed.
The union maintained that students are the most beneficiaries of the industrial struggles and reaffirmed commitment to ensure their interests are being protected.
