By our reporter| The federal government on Wednesday assured Nigerians that the dispute with the Academic Union of Universities (ASUU) over the lingering strike action will be resolved soon.
The minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige who gave the assurance on Wednesday while briefing reporters shortly after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House, Abuja, noted that contrary to insinuations that the government was not engaging with ASUU, there have been a series of meetings between all parties.
According to Ngige, the next one is scheduled for Thursday to resolve the face-off.
“As the issue is bordered on money, remunerations, welfare, we did another conciliation meeting inviting the ministry of finance, budget office of the federation, National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission and again, with their employers on the 1st of March,” Ngige said.
“After that, it became clear that two cardinal things were still keen, the issue of renegotiation of their welfare package as in the 2009 agreement; that agreement says you can review every five years, so, that issue stuck out like a sore thumb.
“Then another issue arose in that agreement, the payment platform of university transparency, accountability solution, which they say they’ve invented. They said they don’t want to be on IPPIS; that IPPIS was amputating their salaries and taking off certain allowances, and so, that it is not capturing their peculiarities.
“So, we now have to ask them to go back to these places, form committees with them. Education took them on the issue of 2009 agreement, which is renegotiation of their conditions of service, emolument, their remuneration allowances. Therefore, salaries, income and wages, and ministry of finance that produce the money are involved. So, they went back.”
Ngige also dismissed talks that the federal government has a different payment table for trade unions in tertiary institutions, noting that it might be impossible to raise the payment table because other unions, even in the health sector, might kick.
He said although the Government is not afraid of handling the situation, it has to operate within the available resource.
The Labour Minister also promised that the 13-year-old ASUU challenge involving a 2009 negotiation agreement and payment platform issues are being renegotiated and will be resolved before the end of the current administration.
The university lecturers embarked on strike on February 14.
They are seeking improved funding for the government-owned institution, and the adoption of its University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) payment platform among others.
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