Following the failure to address lingering issues cited in the December 2020 agreement, The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has on Monday issued a three-week ultimatum to the Federal Government or face strike action.
ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, stated this after an emergency meeting with the Senior Staff Association of Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities in Abuja.
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According to the ASUU President, all the issues, including those of unpaid academic earned allowances and the universities revitalisation fund have not been addressed almost one year after an agreement was reached.
He also warned that the union might be compelled to embark on another nationwide strike should the government fail to implement the Memorandum of Action signed with ASUU before the suspension of the last industrial action.
Recall that ASUU embarked on a nationwide strike in March 2020 following its disagreement with the government over the funding of the universities and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), among other issues.
It had proposed the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) to replace IPPIS.
In a bid to get the lecturers back to class, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, convened a series of meetings with leaders of the union and relevant government officials.
Amid the strike that lasted several months and negotiations that ended in a deadlock, the government and ASUU later signed a Memorandum of Action in December 2020.
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The memorandum of action approved with the unions last year had promised to fulfil demands ranging from payment of earned allowances, introduction of the UTAS platform for University workers, payment of revitalization fund for Universities among others.
This led to the suspension of the protracted industrial action that lasted nine months, although not after the government offered a cumulative N65 billion to the lecturers to address earned academic allowances and revitalisation of universities.
