by The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Abuja branch has challenged the Federal Government to mention any of the things done to bring an end the ongoing strike embarked upon by the union.
The Union branch chairman, Dr Kassim Umar stated this on Tuesday, at the end of its congress, held at the University’s Mini Campus in Gwagwalada.
Reacting to the reports that the federal government has approved another N100 billion for the university unions as part of the 2009 agreement, Dr Umar said all these are being said in social media and newspapers.
Dr Umar said the congress deliberated on issues around the strike and vehemently pronounced and reject the offer presented by the federal government, saying that the National Executive Council (NEC) will meet at the end of the four weeks extension to take its decision.
He said, “As far as we are concerned, the federal government has not done anything to our various demands.
On the ”No work no pay policy” as stated by the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, he said the ILO and the 1981 trade Union act is very clear on that.
“Our salaries are always negotiated, it is not something you feel you can pay us, it is something that you have to sit down to talk and agree that you can pay us”. He noted.
“As far as we are concerned, our job is different from any other civil servants, it is the job you are going back to do, you are not paying for an hour you are paying for the job we have done so it is there responsibility to pay us and if they said they are not paying us and if they said they are not paying us, it is a joke taken too far. Dr Umar noted.
“As it is, they have not called our union and Nigerians should know that we have not been called, no invitation to our union and all that we know the strike continues.”Dr Umar stated.
“In the entire world today nobody jokes with education, if you are talking of economy, you are talking of cultural and social aspect, you must invest in education, no single country jokes with education like the way Nigerians are doing,” the ASUU chairman said.
Dr Umar maintained that the Union has a structure on how it takes decisions and at the end of the expiration of the ultimatum on Sunday, the needful will be done.
Source: radionigeria
