To press home their demands, the Taraba State University chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced a complete, extensive, and indefinite strike action.
The union’ s demands in the organization, according to ASUU Chairman Samuel Shitaa, include the non- availability of the pension system, won academic allowances, and perimeter fencing, among others.
The strike announcement comes just days after the state government paid the four- month salary arrears owed to the institution’ s academic staff.
” The problems at hand are not unpaid wages, because we are struggling for our rights. One of our challenges on the ground is the pension plan, for which the organization has made no arrangements, ” he added.
” Since 2013, the problem of won academic allowances has not been discussed. We brought up the question of a perimeter fence, and they said they had begun, but no substantial progress has been made so far, based on what we’ ve seen.
” I want you to understand that the strike that has been announced is not just the branch that is in charge of the strike; this is because the protocol has been followed with the national ASUU stepping in to engage and see progress in terms of engagement, but it has failed, ” he added.
However, Vincent Ado- Tenebrae, the Vice- Chancellor of Taraba State University, disagreed with ASUU’ s chairman, arguing that the union’ s demands had been met.
Despite a series of talks with the union to find a long- term solution to their demands, Ado- Tenebe expressed surprise at their strike action.
” Everything they should have said correctly is that what they have is inadequate, and I can assure you that no educational institution anywhere in the world can tell you that they have 100% of the funding that they require, ” he said.
” It is not the easiest way to fix our problems to have a strike all of the time. We have support in the form of a percentage, even though it is not 100 percent, so to say that the government is arrogant and unresponsive is incorrect.
” What they’ re talking about is the contributory insurance policy, which is a new law in the country, and as I speak with you, I’ d like to remind you that no Taraba ministry, department, parastatal, or agency has yet to enforce it.
” University staff has been requesting that the pension scheme be started, and I received approval for it to begin, but none of them could open a pension account or find pension administrators for management to use, so how can we make the payment without a pension account to pay into? ” he added.
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