ASUU Gives FG 6 New Conditions To End Strike

University teachers have presented six new conditions
for calling off their two-week old strike.
But the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris
Ngige, yesterday pleaded with the lecturers to embrace
peace for the sake of innocent students.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) is to discuss today
the demands of the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) and chart the way forward.
Some of the options include:
Bringing back ASUU to the negotiation table;
Allowing the Wale Babalakin Panel to conclude its
assignment;
Suing ASUU to either the Industrial Arbitration Panel
(IAP) or the National Industrial Court (NIC); and
Referring all issues to the Ministry of Labour and
Employment, in line with the Trade Dispute law.
According to a source, who spoke in confidence with
our correspondent, the six conditions were not part of
the previous demands referred to the Babalakin
Committee for arbitration.
The new conditions are that:
The Federal Government should immediately accept
payment of shortfall in salaries of universities;
Universities to manage their IGR the way they like and
exemption from TSA;
Exemption of Endowment Funds, JV cash from TSA;
Payment of University Salary Scale to teachers in
primary schools in universities;
Release/implementation of guidelines for the retirement
of Professors in line with 2009 FG-ASUU Agreement;
and
Waiver/ government fiat to set up Nigerian Universities
Pension Management Company

The source said: “ASUU has brought proposals different
from the agreement they reached in the Senate with the
Federal Ministry of Education.
“They are asking the government to take over the
shortfall in the salaries of universities when there were
glaring cases of abuse of recruitment process and non-
compliance with Integrated Personnel Payment
Information System (IPPIS).

“They want the government to accept liability for the
shortfall in spite of the fact that universities acted
arbitrarily in increasing their wage bill.

“The lecturers have also asked the government to
manage their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)
henceforth instead of remitting such to the Treasury
Single Account (TSA) in line with their demand for
autonomy for universities.”
But, according to the source, the government does not
want to waive the TSA policy for universities. It,
however, expressed readiness to exempt Endowment
Funds and Joint Ventures Funds from TSA.
“In their new demands, the lecturers asked for the
issuance of a fiat to the Pension Commission to
register the Nigerian Universities Pension Management
Company.

“PENCOM has expressed its readiness to register
Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company, if
ASUU and other stakeholders can quickly address the
lapses already highlighted in the registration process.
PENCOM is insisting that the guidelines in the 2005
Pension Reforms Act must be fully complied with,” the
source said.
The the government is said to be shocked by ASUU’s
fresh request that the Federal Government should pay
University Salary Scale to primary school teachers in
varsity staff schools.
It said: “They are saying that the staff school should be
allowed to continue to collect tuition fees.”
“The government has a different approach to the staff
school. Apart from retaining its policy that primary
education is free under the Universal Basic Education
(UBE) Scheme, the government is of the opinion that
teachers in varsity schools be either paid by the
Universal Basic Education Commission(UBEC) or be
placed under the salary scale of the Federal Ministry of
Education or Federal Salary Scale,” the senior
government official said.
“Another demand from ASUU is the release of the
guidelines for the retirement of professors in line with
2009 Agreement.”
Responding to a question, the source said: “We believe
that ASUU is trying to be difficult with the new
conditions after the Minister of Education, Mallam
Adamu Adamu, had conceded N23billion to pay earned
allowances of the lecturers.
“The ASUU strike will be tabled before the Federal
Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday (today). The
FEC will weigh options and chart the way forward.”
Contacted last night, the Minister of Labour and
Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige said: “They have brought
some proposals different from the demands we are
already addressing. I want ASUU to toe the path of
peace for the sake of the innocent students in our
universities.
“I am asking ASUU to know that this dispute is already
apprehended by this ministry. And when we apprehend
a dispute, it is necessary for parties to come for talks
and consideration of issues.
“Going by Section 3 of the Labour Dispute law, any
further discussion on ASUU demands should be done
with the Federal Ministry of Labour.”

source http://www.fullgist.com.ng/2017/08/ASUU- strike-update-ASUU-gives-govt-six.html