The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has scheduled to meet with the four university-based unions today (Tuesday) over the ongoing strike in the ivory towers.
Recall that public universities in the country have been closed down as a result of the strike embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied Educational Institutions, NAAT, and the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT.
The four unions affiliated with the NLC shut down universities over unresolved issues including difficulties they face with the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, non-payment of the minimum wage arrears, and privatization funds, and non-review of the 2009 Agreement with the government.
ASUU specifically proceeded on a one-month warning strike on February 14 and extended the strike for another eight weeks as a result of the alleged federal government’s inability to meet up with its demands.
In what appears to be a season of the strike, SSANU and NASU through its Joint Action Committee, JAC, in March, also announced that they were going on a two-week warning strike following the alleged government failure to address the concerns they raised which includes the non-payment of minimum wage arrears after many promises made to them by the government.
NAAT also declared its warning strike in early March to press home its demands.
Worried by the continuous shut down of the citadel of learning, the leadership of the NLC has scheduled to meet with the four striking unions to know their level of engagement with the federal government.
General Secretary of NLC, Comrade Emma Ugbaja, said yesterday that the meeting slated for 10 am on Tuesday at the Labour House is aimed at seeing a way to resolve the face-off between the aggrieved unions and government in the interest of all stakeholders.
Comrade Ugbaja said that it was proper to hear from the unions first before taking any position, adding that the interest of labor was to ensure that the matter was sorted out.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has scheduled to meet with the leadership of academic staff in his office on Monday.
Ngige is the Conciliator-in-Chief of the Federal Government and has been interfacing between unions and the government.
ASUU had accused the government of insincerity and had presented its alternative payment model, the University Transparency, and Accountability Solution, UTAS, but the government claimed that the platform failed the integrity test. – ThisNigeria.
