An end to the ongoing strike by
the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) might be in the offing as the
federal government is reportedly set to resume talks with the leadership of the
union.
ASUU had in March declared an
indefinite strike, citing the federal government’s failure to meet its demands.
The industrial action was on the
back of disagreement with the government
over issues on revitalization of universities and earned academic allowance.
Other issues raised by the union
had included the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) as
well as funding of universities.
But according to THISDAY, the
federal government has resolved to write a letter to the union’s leadership to
continue negotiations before the end of the week.
The media outlet quoted a source
as saying that the government has also accepted ASUU’s earlier request for a
physical meeting — which it earlier opposed — following lockdown relaxation.
The source, however, said the
meeting would only hold if ASUU agrees to suspend its four-month-old strike.
“The move is meant to solicit the
cooperation of the university lecturers in the efforts to put necessary
mechanism in place for the reopening of tertiary institutions after months of
closure due to COVID-19 pandemic,” the source said.
“The federal government will
write to request that ASUU should suspend its industrial action to enable talks
to commence on their grievances. The suspension of the strike is also important
to get the university teachers involved in the preparations for the reopening
of the institutions.”
The source added that the
ministry of labour and employment has commenced consultation with other
ministries and stakeholders to agree on a fixed date to resume talks between
the two parties.
When contacted, Moyosore
Ajao, chairman of UNILORIN’s ASUU, said the union has not been briefed about
the development.
He added that they are ready for
negotiations if invited by the federal government.
“There is no information as
regarding that yet for now. We read it on the newspaper just like you
(addressing our reporter) did. There is nothing on ground to suggest that.
However, when government is ready and we are invited, we will honour them,” he
said.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com