*As FG agrees to 23.5% salary increase for lecturers, 35% for professors
*Earmarks N150bn intervention fund in 2023 budget
* Sets up C’ttee to review No work, No pay decision
By Emma Okereh and Felix Khanoba
After six months strike action, President Muhammadu Buhari has succumbed to pressure over the ongoing strike embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The AUTHORITY reports that ASUU, the umbrella body of lecturers in public universities in the country, had embarked on the strike in February 2022, to press home its demands on condition of service and revitalisation of the nation’s university system.
But speaking at a meeting with Pro-chancellors and Vice Chancellors of public universities in Abuja on Tuesday, Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, announced that Buhari has agreed to increase lecturers salary by 23.5 per cent while those at the professorial cadre would get 35 percent raise.
He, however, said that the approved salary increase was less than the recommendation of the Nimi Briggs Renegotiation Committee as its proposal was considered unrealistic and out of tune with the current realities of the economy.
The minister added that the government had also agreed to provide other financial interventions to meet the needs of members of the four unions in Nigerian public universities.
He said : “The Federal Government can only afford a 23.5% salary increase for all category of the workforce in Federal Universities, except for the professorial cadre which will enjoy a 35% upward review;
” That henceforth allowances that pertain to ad-hoc duties of the academic and non-academic staff shall be paid as at when due by the Governing Councils of Universities to which such services are rendered and to the staff who perform them;
” That a sum of 150 billion Naira shall be provided for in the 2023 Budget as funds for the revitalization of Federal Universities, to be disbursed to the Institutions in the First Quarter of the year, and
” That a sum of 50 billion Naira shall be provided for in the 2023 Budget for the payment of outstanding areas of earned academic allowances, to be paid in the First Quarter of the year.
” The four University-based Unions, in separate letters addressed to the Chairman of the Government Re-negotiating Team, rejected Government’s offer which they described as inadequate to meet their respective demands needed to tackle the challenges confronting the university system.
“Following the above development, I held several meetings with the individual striking University-based Unions, during which I explained the prevailing economic situation limiting the ability of Government to accede to all their demands. On those occasions, I also appealed to the Unions to consider and accept the Government’s offer and call off the on-going industrial actions in the interest of the nation’s educational system. Consequently, the Joint Action Committee of NASU/SSANU and NAAT suspended their industrial action. Unexpectedly, and quite fortunately, on Monday, 29th August, 2022, ASUU decided to extend its strike indefinitely. I want to say, categorically, however, that all is not lost: We have secured successes elsewhere.
“Let me, at this point, share with you the successes so far made, in handling the strikes being faced by the entire educational system. You may wish to recall that at the time we commenced the current round of negotiations with the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Colleges of Education Academic Staff Unions (COEASU), which has just suspended its strike. Still, there were threats, though, by some of the Unions to resume strike along with the University-based Unions, ASUU, NAAT, NASU, SSANU. After direct and frank engagement, I am pleased to report that ASUP, COEASU, NAAT, NASU and SSANU have suspended their strike and returned to duty. Sadly, however, we are yet to get ASUU back to work.
“In all we have been doing, our guide has been the directive of Mr President Muhammadu Buhari, namely, that while the unions should be persuaded to return to work, Government should not repeat the past mistakes of accepting to sign an agreement it will be unable to implement. Government should not, in the guise of resolving current challenges, sow seeds for future disruptions.
“We have done the best that we can in the circumstance. After Inter-ministerial consultations and rounds of hard negotiations with all government agencies, we interacted with the Unions. I personally, gave it all it required to resolve the current challenges. I met the Unions anywhere and everywhere possible with facts, with figures, and with absolute sincerity. For example, I directly met with ASUU leadership in my house, in my office and at the ASUU Secretariat on several different occasions, in addition to other formal engagements going on.”
On the issue of No Work, No Pay policy, the minister said that government was being mindful of the law as it cannot break the law of the land.
” To be frank with all the Unions, especially with ASUU, one major issue over which Government and the Unions could not reach amicable agreement was the issue of the law on “No work, No pay”. In the spirit of sincerity, Government made it clear that it would not break the law. And on this, I must, openly and once again, thank all the Unions which made the sacrifice of understanding the position of Government on the matter, ” Adamu said.
The Minister, however, said the government has put in place another team to look into the recommendations of the Professor Nimi Briggs’ committee in charge of the renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement between the government and the university-based staff unions.
The unions include ASUU, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Education Institutions (NASU).
The 14-man committee, which comprises of some pro-chancellors, vice-chancellors and other stakeholders, would be chaired by the minister and it is expected to find a speedy solution to the ongoing ASUU strike, including finding a possible way to resolve the ‘No work, No pay’ policy.
The committee members include Professor Olu Obafemi, Professor Nimi Briggs, Udo Udoma, Bashir Dalhatu, Professor Kayode Adebowale,(University of Ibadan) Professor Kabir Bala (Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria), Professor Lilian Salami (University of Benin), Professor Charles Igwe (University of Nigeria Nsukka), Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Professor Ishaq Oloyede; Representatives of the Academy of letters, Science, Medicine and Social Sciences.
Recall that some of the demands of ASUU that prompted its indefinite strike include revitalisation of public universities, payment of earned academic allowances and the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) for payment of university lecturers’ salaries, among others.
