Another Strike? ASUU Plans Showdown With FG

It has not been an easy ride for the federal government to averting strike threats from the labour union, which they were able to achieve success last week. And now, another strike looms.

Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is planning another showdown with the Federal Government over what it called the government’s planned imposition of the Integrated Personnel Payroll System (IPPIS) on its members.

The union leaders have summoned an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting where it agreed that the union should begin mobilization of members for action against the government.

The President had reportedly directed that any worker not on the IPPIS would no longer get a salary.

The Chairman of the University of Ibadan (UI) chapter of the union, Professor Deji Omole, on Sunday said ASUU was not against accountability but would resist any attempt by the government to violate existing laws and autonomy of the university.

Omole said the union had offered to assist the Federal Government in designing the appropriate template to address the peculiarities of university lecturers in the IPPIS.

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But the union leader noted that the government seemed bent on using what he called the World Bank-designed exploitative template.

He said the government template would enslave intellectuals as it does not make provisions for payment of arrears on promotion, study leave allowance, responsibility allowance, among others.

According to him, the Federal Government’s template was designed to phase out university lecturers above 60 years, which he said is against the new policy, where professors retire at 70 years.

Omole faulted the Federal Government for allegedly demonstrating hatred for introducing what he called illegal policies that negatively affect the smooth running of the universities.

“Forceful imposition of IPPIS on university workers is a violation of the university autonomy act. It is, therefore, illegal. While ASUU is not against the accountability on the part of the university administrators, the government should not be allowed to destroy public universities in its purported claims of fighting corruption.

“Our members should remain focused and committed in our struggles to protect public university education by resisting the forceful imposition of IPPIS on university workers,” the union said.