ASUU begins indefinite strike over allowance

The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Monday renewed its hostility with the Federal Government as it declared an indefinite strike action. The resolution followed the body’s National Executive Committee meeting held at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State on Sunday and dragged till the early hours of Monday.

According to reports, 51 of the 53 branches of ASUU unanimously agreed to embark on the strike.
The strike with the government, The Nation learned, followed the federal government‘s failure to honour the Academic Earned Allowance (AEA) which formed a component of the 2009 Agreement government signed with the union.

Declaring the strike, ASUU chairman University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapter, Dr. Karo Ogbinaka, who addressed reporters at the university premises described the strike as a “painful yet inevitable decision.” He added that ASUU is tired of government’s dilly dallying, and cannot allowed itself to be insulted any further.

Throwing more light on the AEA, Ogbinaka said it includes allowances paid as part of excess work load responsibility allowance, and allowance for supervision of Post Graduate Programmes for lecturers, head of department (HoDs), Deans and exam officers, among others.

He added that the highest AEA is not more than N12, 500 per month, wondering why it has remained difficult for government to live up to its promises.

Students of Kaduna state university have called on the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to have a rethink on its current industrial action to protest government’s refusal to implement the 2009 agreement it reached with the union and suspend the strike.

he students who spoke to Channels Television in Kaduna said the strike would affect the already disrupted academic calendar and therefore called on the union to consider university students in the country who they noted are no parties in their dispute with the federal government.

Kaduna state university ASUU branch chairman, Dr. Sadiq Abdu said although there were skeletal academic activities in the school on Tuesday, the lecturers would commence full industrial action starting from Wednesday. He said the university lecturers across the country resumed strike because of government’s insincerity.

But the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Kaduna zone, said they are in total support of the industrial action by ASUU because government has failed to provide the basic infrastructure in the universities in the country which is one of the demands of the union.